


Changing the journey's destination

by Aragorn_II_Elessar



Series: The Earth's Mightiest Heroes Assemble [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Avengers, F/M, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), The Avengers Are Good Bros, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27558640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aragorn_II_Elessar/pseuds/Aragorn_II_Elessar
Summary: Sequel to 'A Beautiful Journey.' The Avengers are sent back to their time and now they must prevent Thanos' plan from coming to fruition if they are to change the future they saw.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne
Series: The Earth's Mightiest Heroes Assemble [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1421344
Comments: 126
Kudos: 77





	1. Time for some exposing

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> So this was obviously a long time coming, and I decided I shouldn't delay it any longer. I regained motivation to do the sequel today, and I decided to write this chapter down before I lose the motivation.
> 
> 11 days more and 'A Beautiful Journey' will be one year old, damn!
> 
> Anyway, as to why I've delayed the sequel for so long, I was writing my 'Heroes' series and was really, really invested in it, as it keeps getting bigger and bigger, so I just kept writing more and more of it.
> 
> Plus, the Phase 4 announcements are just turning me off on the MCU, so that's another reason.
> 
> And I am too invested in the Buffyverse nowadays, so I spend my time watching and re-watching 'Buffy' and 'Angel' episodes to write fanfiction about them, so there's another reason for you.
> 
> Then another reason is that in the previous story, I bit off more than I could chew, and I regret that a lot. There are some choices I made in that story which I now feel are wrong (CaptainHill isn't one of them!).
> 
> Another reason is that the previous story was a huge hit, so no matter how I did the sequel, some of its got to be disappointing, but I'll try my best to not make it disappointing.
> 
> And the biggest reason the previous story ate up a lot of 2019 for me, and while I met some great people writing the fic, I also got exposed to the toxic side of fanfiction properly, so I wanted to stay away from this for as long as possible.
> 
> But dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. So now I will write this story, though updates won't be regular.
> 
> And the previous story now has over 1100 favorites on FF and almost 950 kudos on AO3, so love you all, thanks a lot, keep blowing my mind.
> 
> Hope all enjoy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers return to the present and get to work.

May 2018, New York, Stark Tower

There was a flash of light as Tony, Pepper and Rhodes all appeared together, looking around. Tony looked at the clock. Only a single minute had passed from when they had been plucked from here.

"Only one minute has passed", Rhodes noted.

"The pros of time travel, you can be away in the past or future for years, and return back in time for dinner", Tony quipped to the others.

"We have 2 weeks, right?" Pepper asked and Tony nodded. "We must prepare wisely."

"Yes", Tony agreed as he lifted up the drive that he had been given from the future. "Let's start with this."

* * *

Same time, Queens

Peter and May appeared in their apartment as they saw the food on the table was still the same.

"We didn't doze off and have a weird and long dream, right?" May asked.

Peter searched his pockets and found the drive he had gotten from his future self. "No we didn't."

* * *

Scott and Hope appeared near Luis' van in which they had been adding the finishing touches to the Quantum Tunnel. It looked the same pretty much.

"I guess we'll have to put this on old for a bit", Scott said.

"Or we can ask mom and dad to finish it up", Hope said and Scott nodded.

* * *

Wakanda

Steve, Natasha, Sam and Bucky all appeared back in the field, with goats grazing around them.

"I think I need to get my new arm quickly", Bucky said.

"Yeah, that will be needed to help out in this", Natasha said.

"And your hand", Steve reminded.

"It'll heal, it's just 2 weeks", Natasha reminded.

"Barely enough time to prepare", Sam said.

"Let's get to work", Steve said and they all nodded.

* * *

T'Challa was back near his court as he looked around.

"Everything all right?" Okoye asked him in concern as she walked to him.

"Yes Okoye, everything is fine", T'Challa told her as he turned away from the court to where Steve, Bucky, Natasha and Sam were, to her confusion.

* * *

Edinburgh

Wanda and Vision appeared at the spot where they had been having lunch, and looked at the food on the plate. They had half-eaten when they had disappeared, and the remaining half was still left.

"So, we should get in contact with the others quickly then", Wanda said.

"Yes, we better, so we can be back in New York by the time Secretary Ross is exposed", Vision said and she nodded as they got up, leaving their half-finished food.

* * *

Clint's farm

Clint reappeared next to Lila as she asked. "Everything okay, dad?"

"Yeah honey", Clint said, hugging her tight, to her surprise. "Everything's gonna be okay."

* * *

Unknown location

Nick and Maria were back in their car again, the streets busy like always.

"So, we should get to New York quickly then?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, we better", Fury said. "They still need us."

* * *

Space

Thor, Loki and Bruce appeared in their ship again and looked around.

"Good thing we didn't fall this time", Loki said.

"Yeah, I know how much you hate it brother", Thor agreed before his expression turned grim. "Now we have 2 weeks, we better make good use of them, or half of us get slaughtered again, including you."

"Yes, we better", Loki nodded.

"Any ideas?" Bruce asked.

"I see you were gone."

They turned to see Heimdall walk in. The last time Thor had seen Heimdall was being stabbed to death by Thanos in the recording.

"Heimdall!" Thor cried out in joy as he rushed to him and gave him a tight hug. Heimdall was caught off-guard but returned it. If he hadn't been Asgardian, the hug would have been bone-crushing and made him breathless.

They parted as Loki asked. "You knew we were gone?"

"Yes, for one full minute", Heimdall said. "And I know something happened."

"I think we should tell him, he can help", Bruce said.

"Right you are, Bruce", Thor agreed before turning to Heimdall. "So, we were taken to the future-"

* * *

One day later, Joint Counter Terrorist Center

Everett Ross was working, writing something in a file when he felt someone come up to him, and looked up to see Tony standing there.

"Mr. Stark, wasn't expecting you, you have an appointment?" Everett asked.

"I do actually", Tony said. "Made one yesterday."

"If you're here for any funding programs for this place, unneeded, we do just fine on our own", Everett said.

"No, it's not that", Tony said as he held up the drive and put it on the table. "Open it, and read it all. You're going to find many interesting things in there, and you'll have the highlight of your career with this."

"Oh really?" Everett asked and Tony nodded, so he picked up the drive and looked at it. "In that case, let's see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Chapter 1 is done. Hope all enjoyed it.
> 
> Now normally a man like Thaddeus Ross would be prepared for anything against him, but not when the information and evidence comes from the future, so Ross can suck it now.
> 
> Next chapter will be the starting of the gathering, and then we will finalize the plans, yada yada.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	2. Everyone assembles again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers gather together to plan their next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross was in a meeting with some other politicians as he was saying. "So I think that makes it clear tha-"

Then they heard slow clapping and turned to see Everett standing there, a smirk on his face.

"Mr. Ross", Ross greeted Everett.

"Mr. Ross", Everett greeted back with a smile. "So, fooling these people into thinking you are a great man who wants what's best for everyone in the world, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about", Ross said as he walked to him till their faces were inches apart. "And mind your tone with me, agent."

"Sure I will, counsellor", Everett smirked. "I will use a neutral tone with you, like I use with every criminal."

Ross' eyes widened as he snarled. "What are you talking about?"

Two more agents entered behind Everett as he said. "Secretary Ross, you are under arrest for illegal experimentation, endangerment of civilians, illegal crossing of borders, illegal construction, and misleading people on a global level."

The agents started cuffing Ross as he said. "This is ridiculous! I didn't do anything! This is a trick against me!"

"The information we found suggests otherwise", Everett smirked as his agents led Ross away.

"THIS ISN'T RIGHT! YOU SHALL PAY FOR THIS!" Ross screamed as the agents dragged him away.

Everett looked at the other politicians and said with a smile. "Have a good day, ladies and gentlemen. With him gone, I am sure your day has gotten a lot better."

He then walked out, leaving the others exchanging dumbfounded looks.

* * *

Later, Stark Tower

" _Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross was arrested earlier this day by the Joint Counter Terrorism Center over breaking international laws. A lot of information still hasn't been given out regarding what he has done. But this raises the question- What happens to the enforcement of the Sokovia Accords in the US, since he was the handler here?"_

Tony shut off the TV, exchanging looks with Rhodes and Pepper.

"I wish I was there, would have been awesome to see", Rhodes said.

"Well, there's still the trial, we can see him there", Pepper said.

"Yup, the scene is gonna be satisfying to watch, whenever we get to it", Tony told the two before dialing a number as the call was sent.

" _Mr. Stark",_ President Matthew Ellis greeted from the other end.

"I think you have seen the news of Ross being arrested", Tony said. "Or you probably knew about the arrest before it happened."

" _Yeah, I know about it"_ , Ellis simply said.

"So, I'm pretty sure this would affect the position of the Sokovia Accords in the US", Tony told him.

" _Yes, rather badly. Those are going to get derailed badly"_ , Ellis told him. " _Any reason you're interested in all of this?"_

"So, Mr. President, I know you have no reason trust me, actually wait, you do", Tony said, making Ellis chuckle from the other end. "So, what I want to say is, there is a threat I have been warned about, and we need all of us to fight it, so the Avengers who broke the Accords need to be pardoned. Will you do that, please?"

" _In case you haven't noticed, whatever crime they committed, it was done before the Accords were in force, and none of it happened on US soil",_ Ellis pointed out. " _So we have no reason to really stop any of them from coming to the US if they want to come. Do whatever you feel is best, Mr. Stark. Just make sure we do not have any incident like Sokovia or Lagos on our hands."_

"I assure you nothing of that sort is going to happen this time", Tony said.

" _Well then, we have nothing more to talk about",_ Ellis said before cutting the call as Tony looked at the other two.

"So, the others are coming?" Rhodes asked.

"Yeah", Tony nodded. "Technically, they don't even need a pardon."

Pepper jumped in joy before collecting herself, and all three shared happy smiles.

Tony then walked to a drawer and pulled it, revealing the phone Steve had given. He picked it up and called as Steve picked up from the other end. " _Yeah Tony?"_

"I'm guessing you know about Ross' arrest", Tony said.

* * *

Wakanda

"Yeah, we're watching it right now", Steve said as he, Natasha, Bucky, Sam and T'Challa watched the news of Ross' arrest on a TV in Wakanda.

* * *

New York, Stark Tower

"See, I talked to the President and he says you were technically never fugitives from the law in the US because the Accords weren't in force when the thing between us happened due to not being ratified, and whatever you did wasn't on US soil", Tony told Steve.

* * *

Wakanda

"Yeah, I know, we just avoided the US because of Ross, not a fan of that guy", Steve said.

* * *

New York, Stark Tower

"No one with half a brain is a fan of that asshat, Cap", Tony said. "Anyway, so how soon are you all coming to New York?"

* * *

Wakanda

"In a day", Steve assured. "We'll plan stuff, then we shall all go to Wakanda to remove the Mind Stone from Vision's head without killing him."

* * *

New York, Stark Tower

"Yeah, we better do that quickly", Tony said. "And we have a few new friends to make too."

* * *

Wakanda

"I know just who you are talking about", Steve said with a smirk. "Good luck, Tony. We'll meet soon."

* * *

New York, Stark Tower

"Likewise Cap", Tony said. "See ya soon."

With that, he cut the call.

* * *

Wakanda

"I believe I should take a leave for some time", T'Challa said. "A few weeks would be appropriate, right?"

"Yes, more than appropriate, Your Highness", Sam said to him.

"So New York it is first, then back here", Natasha said.

"Yeah, looks like it", Steve said.

"Let's start then", Bucky said and all nodded.

"Your new arm shall be given to you first", T'Challa told Bucky.

"I would very much like that, thanks a lot", Bucky said.

"You do not need to thank me, Barnes", T'Challa assured as he got up and walked away to finish any needed formalities.

* * *

Queens

Peter was preparing his suit as May asked. "Peter?"

"Yes Aunt May", Peter turned to her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" May asked him.

"Yes, I need to do this", Peter said. "All of us need to do this, if we are to have a better future."

May just smiled and walking to him, gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "All right then, I won't stop you. Just take care of yourself."

"I will", Peter assured as he gave her a hug and went back to preparing his suit.

"Go get 'em tiger", May smiled as he smiled back and she walked off, deciding it was time to let Peter be a hero on his own terms.

* * *

One day later

Tony, Clint, Peter, Scott, Hope, Pepper, Rhodes, Fury and Maria stood, waiting for the Quinjet. With the Accords derailed, Tony had also managed to convince the President to pardon Clint, especially since the guy had been illegally locked up in the Raft at first, so the President had agreed. Scott and Hope had joined them shortly after, and Fury and Maria as well.

"Here they come", Clint noticed the Wakanda jet before anyone else, and then it came.

"See! That's why he's Hawkeye", Maria commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, eye as good as a hawk", Tony quipped.

"Thanks Tony", Clint said as jet landed on the ground and out of it walked Steve, Natasha, Bucky, Sam, T'Challa, Wanda and Vision.

Wanda and Vision had been picked up by Steve, T'Challa and the rest from where they were in Edinburgh.

"Glad you could make it", Tony held out his hand as Steve shook it.

"Yeah me too", Steve said as they dropped hands.

"Your Highness", Tony greeted T'Challa as he raised his hand.

"Mr. Stark", T'Challa greeted too as they shook hands and dropped them soon afterwards.

"Feels nostalgic to be here again", Sam commented.

"Last time we were here was at the party Ultron crashed", Maria remembered.

"Yup, after that it was the Compound, which Thanos will destroy if we don't stop him", Natasha said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Bucky said.

"Yes, come in", Pepper gestured as all of them walked in together, just liking the feeling of comradery they were sharing again after so long. But they weren't here for that. What they had to do was much more important, and they were going to make sure they succeeded.

* * *

Later

The group all sat around the table, with Fury just standing in a corner, as those were always his favorite spots.

"So, first things first", Tony said. "We are together and all, but Thanos has an army."

"Which means we need one too", Steve said as he looked at the rest. "And Thor and Hulk as well."

"They're doing their own thing in Space right now I am sure", Scott commented. "Thor has to find the Guardians and Carol, and then make his badass ax."

"Oh I can't wait to see it in real life", Peter said.

"With a proper handle", Hope added.

"Anyway, now onto important matters", Hill started. "So, who are we going to approach?"

"Well, Stephen Strange still lives in New York", Steve pointed out. "He's the one we should go to for sure, he will believe us, and he can help us out in getting more reinforcements."

"I would gladly have the Wakandans fight in this", T'Challa offered bravely.

"And we appreciate that, Your Highness", Steve said respectfully. "But right now, we do not when or where we will end up fighting Thanos, so I think its best to not call them to fight for us."

"Right you are, Captain", T'Challa said.

"I guess first we go to Strange, have him steal one or two Stones from their spots", Peter suggested. "Can the Soul Stone be stolen with the yellow sparkly thing he does?"

"I doubt that", Natasha said as all looked at her sadly. "The Soul Stone demands a price. There would be contingencies in case someone tries to steal it."

"So no Soul Stone then", Clint said.

"Let's just put that on the side", Steve said. "Only Gamora knows where it is, and Thor is going to find them. I know he can protect her, and the other Guardians as well."

"The Reality Stone can still be stolen", Wanda piped up. "That's fair game."

"Yeah, that can be taken", Bucky agreed. "And I'm sure Strange can take that."

"Thor already has the Space Stone", Steve noted before turning to T'Challa and Vision. "Now we need to get the Mind Stone out of Vision's head as soon as possible. We have 2 weeks, its barely enough time."

"Do not worry, we shall remove the Stone with our technology", T'Challa assured.

"Yes, I am ready for the procedure", Vision agreed.

"I guess in that case, all we need is to call a surgeon", Tony said as he got up and exchanged a look with the others. "You know who I'm talking about, right?"

"Of course we do", Rhodes said as all chuckled.

Fury gave a slight smile at the scene before his expression turned neutral. He would never say it out loud, but he was proud of all of them.

* * *

Same time, Space

"So the three of you and the other Avengers were all taken to the future by the future Avengers and shown the future", Heimdall summed up what he had been told as they nodded. "Thanos will attack Xandar in two weeks, right?"

"Yes, and then come straight for us", Thor said. "And you as well as Loki die."

"Since we already know now, we can prevent this", Heimdall pointed out.

"I agree", Loki said as he raised his hand and the Teserract was summoned. "This needs to be taken off of this ship."

"You can send this to Earth with me", Bruce said. "What do you think?"

"Yes, I will send you both to Earth, that way we will be safe from Thanos and be free to do what we need to", Heimdall agreed.

"Well first, we shall find the Guardians and Carol, then go to Nidavellir for Stormbreaker", Thor said. "And then we shall go to Xandar to defeat Thanos, because that's where he will attack."

"I think this plan works", Heimdall agreed. "Let's hope it all works out."

* * *

Same time, Earth, Sanctum Sanctorum

Tony knocked on the door of the Sanctorum as Strange stepped out.

"Tony Stark", Strange greeted him. "Why are you here?"

"Stephen Strange, I am Tony Stark. I need you to come with me", Tony said.

"I just said your name, why did you need to introduce yourself?" Strange wondered.

"Just a practical joke", Tony said, remembering this is how Strange had greeted him in the recording. Then suddenly the Bifrost Energy hit the ground next to them, forming a crater, as both Tony and Strange backed off to avoid being hit by it.

When the energy was gone, the two peered into the crater that had been formed. Bruce was there, groaning, and fully-clothed, fortunately, the Teserract next to him.

"Hey….hey Tony", Bruce greeted him.

"Bruce", Tony greeted back. "Good to see ya! And nice that you didn't lose your clothes this time."

"That is an Infinity Stone", Strange recognized the Teserract.

"Yup", Tony said turning to Strange. "Now about the reason I need you to come with me-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Ross gets arrested, the Avengers reassemble, and plans are made. I tried to give everybody some important lines in the discussion scene, hope I did well.
> 
> And now Tony has met Strange, with Bruce coming to Earth with the Teserract.
> 
> This was pointed out to me, but the Accords wouldn't have been ratified by the US during the time Civil War took place, plus whatever Team Cap did wasn't on US soil, so they have no reason to actually be fugitives from the US.
> 
> Chadwick Boseman's unfortunate and tragic passing has guilted me into using Black Panther a bit more in my fics, as I didn't use him much before that, counting out 'A Beautiful Journey' of course.
> 
> I hope he and Stan Lee are together in Heaven at peace.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	3. Collecting Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange starts helping out the Avengers while Thor meets someone, and they aren't exactly off to the best start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> This chapter is my birthday to my very good friend- Brainstorm Sorcerer!

Earth, New York, Sanctum Sanctorum

Tony and Bruce stood together in a corner along with Wong, while the Teserract was kept on a table. Strange was levitating in the air in a meditation position, green energy flowing around him while his head turned and twisted.

"And it's even weirder in person", Tony commented.

"So you have seen that before?" Wong inquired.

"Yes, we were shown that when we were in the future", Tony said.

"We know about you too, nice to meet you, Beyoncé", Bruce said, raising his hand, as Wong rolled his eyes and shook it.

"For some reason, I feel you have picked up my personality traits", Tony said to Bruce. "Because I'm the one who would do this."

"Well, let's just say I can have fun too", Bruce said and the two shared a chuckle.

* * *

Strange had his eyes closed and was breathing heavily, trying to look into all of the futures he could, and to see which one had them winning with the most minimum number of casualties.

Then suddenly he found his astral form in Space/Time, and before him was another Strange, an older one with greying hair and beard. The Eye of Agamotto was hanging on his neck as well, but it didn't feel as powerful as his own.

"Strange", Strange greeted the other one.

"Strange", the other one greeted back. "I see you are trying to determine the best future."

"You must be future Strange from the time period to which the Avengers were taken", Strange noted and his future self nodded.

"Correct", future Strange said to him. "Now you must be wondering why I am here."

"Trying to tell me how to win?" Strange asked.

"No", future Strange said. "Just, you do not need to rely on the Time Stone to look into timelines, that power lies in the Eye of Agamotto itself, the Stone just makes it easier to access due to its own time related capabilities."

"So you accessed it?" Strange asked.

"In the future, the Time Stone has been reduced to atoms for years", future Strange told him. "So yes, I have accessed the true power of the Eye of Agamotto, and that is why I am the Sorcerer Supreme. You can be too, once you tap into your true power."

"Thank you for the advice", Strange said gratefully as future Strange nodded.

"Good luck", future Strange said. "I know you can get through this."

"Thanks", Strange said as his future self disappeared, while Strange was back in the Sanctorum, hovering in the air once more.

"So, Sherlock, got anything for us?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I actually do, Sherlock", Strange replied back as he straightened and landed on the ground. "We have the Time and Space Stones here, you are about to take the Mind Stone out of Vision, and I can get us the Reality Stone easily."

"You're going to get it?" Bruce asked.

"Sure", Strange said.

* * *

Same time, Collector's Museum

Tanleer Tivan aka The Collector was carrying Cosmo away, petting him. "I know you love me, but we need to establish some rules."

Unseen to him, a yellow portal opened underneath the Aether behind him, and the Aether fell into it while the portal closed.

* * *

Same time, New York, Sanctum Sanctorum

"And there we have it", Strange said as Tony, Bruce and Wong looked at the Aether that housed the Reality Stone within it.

"Job well done", Tony said.

"Now come on, we have more work to do", Strange said he walked to them.

"Also", Tony said as Strange looked at him. "Mordo has been killing Sorcerers and absorbing their magic. Thought you should know."

Strange and Wong exchanged a sad look, clearly disappointed and heartbroken at what Mordo was up to, before Strange looked at Tony. "Thank you for telling us."

With that, he opened a portal and said. "Come on."

He then turned to Wong and said. "Keep the Reality Stone in a different Sanctum."

"Sure will", Wong nodded as he used magic to lift up the Aether and walked away with it.

Other than him, all of them walked into the portal Strange had opened and were back in the Stark Tower, as the other Avengers turned to them with wide eyes.

"And now I've seen it in person", Peter said cheerfully.

"It looks cool", Wanda agreed.

"So we have jobs to do, and I am here to help you out with them", Strange said before opening a portal. "That leads to Wakanda. King T'Challa, take Vision there with you, and get the procedure started immediately."

"Yes I will", T'Challa agreed as he turned to Vision. "Come on."

"I shall leave with him and return when the procedure is finished", Vision told the rest.

"Good luck", Wanda said as she raised both thumbs and he nodded.

"I know your sister can do this", Steve assured T'Challa.

"She will do it", T'Challa agreed before he and Vision shared nods with the rest and walked into the portal back to Wakanda, and then Strange closed it.

He then turned to the rest. "Once the Mind Stone is out of Vision, we shall go to Xander and convince them to let us help them against Thanos. Thanos would not have any of the Stones when he attacks Xander, so that is our best chance to take him out together."

"Yes, Xandar it is", Steve agreed. "And during that time, Thor will find the Guardians and Carol, and build Stormbreaker, then come to help us out."

"Oh! And Cap, there's something you need", Tony said he walked into a room. "Come on."

Steve followed him into the lab.

"I've got something for you, Cap", Tony said as he dug around until he found what he was looking for. "Here we go."

Steve stared in surprise as Tony pulled out his old shield, which had been repaired now from when T'Challa had scratched it at the airport in Germany.

"Like I would have said to you in 2023, he made it for you", Tony said. "And it took too much space in the lab anyway."

Steve took it gratefully with appreciation shining in his eyes as he looked at Tony. "Thank you, Tony."

"No problem, Cap", Tony said, and that was when Strange walked into the room.

"Dude, I don't have one for you", Tony said.

"I don't need one", Strange shrugged before turning to Steve. "Thanos broke your shield in 2023, didn't he?"

"Yeah, unfortunately", Steve sighed. "But we will try to avoid that this time."

"We can do a bit better", Strange said as he opened another portal. "To fight someone like Thanos, you need better than even an indestructible shield."

Strange walked into the portal and Steve followed, apprehensive for good reason. They found themselves in a grassy area.

"Where are we?" Steve asked before he realized where they were. "Wait! I remember this place from the recordings."

"This is Norway, Captain", Strange informed Steve before looking at something on the ground, and Steve followed his gaze to see what he was looking at.

"Oh!" Steve simply said.

The remnants of Mjolnir lay on the ground where Hela had shattered it. It was still lying there, with no change in its condition.

"I think I can use the Time Stone this once", Strange said as he pointed at the remnants and the Eye of Agamotto glowed while he rotated his hands anti-clockwise.

The remnants of Mjolnir were all covered in a green glow resembling a clock as they started coming back together while even the sky glowed brightly as energy was formed, and the energy slowly seeped into Mjolnir, which started humming and cracking, and in a few seconds, the hammer was fully formed again.

"This shall be what you can use to battle Thanos", Strange said to Steve.

Steve simply walked to Mjolnir, a bit transfixed by it, and stood over it.

" _Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor_."

Odin's words rang through Steve's head as he moved his hand towards the hammer's handle, and grasped it slowly but firmly.

Strange was 100% sure that King Arthur pulling Excalibur out of the Stone would have looked a lot like what he was witnessing, and he was proud and happy to witness this.

Lightning cracked in the sky and clouds gathered as Steve lifted Mjolnir up and raised it into the sky, closing his eyes as he felt the power of Thor go through him. When he opened his eyes, they were cracking with lightning due to him holding Mjolnir.

"So, how do you like your new weapon, Cap?" Strange inquired.

"Thank you for letting me have the honor of wielding this", Steve said gratefully and humbly. "Once the battle is over, I shall return it to Thor, as it belongs to him."

"Yes, but until then, it's yours", Strange said to Steve who nodded with a smile.

* * *

Same time, Space

"So we sure we have to find her first?" Heimdall asked.

"Yes", Thor said. "She is quite arrogant, she will not listen very easily. The Guardians, other than Gamora and Rocket, aren't the brightest, but not too arrogant, so they will listen to what I have to say, especially since they have had dealings with Thanos before, so they will know to take him seriously."

"Honestly, her excuse of there being too many planets still falls flat", Loki told Thor. "With the amount of genocide he committed, her not being around to stop him doesn't make sense."

"I know what you mean, she wasn't doing her duties properly", Heimdall said as his eyes widened. "She is very close by."

"I guess she is on this planet", Loki said as they stopped near it. "Why is she here at a desolate planet?"

"Probably checking something out", Thor said as he walked to where the ramp would be. "I will go talk to her."

"You sure that's a good idea, brother?" Loki asked.

"Well, as someone who used to be arrogant, I feel I am the best-suited to talk to her", Thor said as Heimdall nodded and pulled a lever, opening up the ramp.

Thor looked at them both and flew down, sensing her power coming closer, and hovered in mid-air as a golden light streaked to him before stopping and straightening as Carol Danvers looked at Thor, her body surrounded by a golden aura.

"Who are you?" Carol asked him.

"I am Thor Odinson, God of Thunder", Thor said casually. "And I know who you are. I am here because we need your help against Thanos."

"You know about him?" Carol asked. "Tell me where he is and I'll be on my way to beat him."

"You think you can do it alone?" Thor asked.

"Sure", Carol shrugged. "Just tell me where he is."

"If you could beat him alone, why haven't you done anything about him until now?" Thor asked and she flinched.

"I haven't met him yet", Carol said.

"Really?" Thor asked. "Because he has been committing genocide on multiple planets for years, going from place to place, and you haven't done anything about it, even though you go between multiple planets."

"Are you questioning how I do my job?" She snarled.

"I think I am", Thor shrugged casually. Next moment, he was punched on the face hard at high speed as he crashed on the planet, forming a crater where he fell.

He chuckled at what had happened as Carol streaked down at him but he rolled away to avoid the attack at the last moment as Carol slid while he got up.

She fired her beams but Thor fired his lightning, both grunting as they tried to overpower each other, but Thor's lightning overpowered her beams, and she was hit, being sent back by a few feet.

Before she could recover, Thor rushed her and punched her hard on the face, sending her back again as she crashed on the ground once more.

She groaned and got up as she looked at Thor, who was still smirking. She then rushed him at full speed again, managing to punch him away and was upon him, punching him multiple times.

Thor then put his hand in the way, blocking a punch, and moved her hand away before giving her a hard head-butt that sent her flying off and crashing back to the ground. Before she could get up again, Thor had his foot on her, pinning her down.

"You still think you are the biggest thing around?" Thor asked. "I used to think the same, then I realized the hard way that I really wasn't. You want to defeat Thanos, work with me and my friends, we know things about him, and what moves he is going to make, you don't know. The arrogance is only going to get you killed if you meet someone more powerful than you who is not a good person."

Carol seemed to consider as Thor gave her a hand and after some hesitation, she accepted as he took his foot off of her and she stood up.

"Never been beaten in a fight before", Carol said. It was obvious she still wasn't fully on-board, but she was slightly more open-minded now.

"First time for everything", Thor told her. "We still need your help after all, in the big fight. But we need to meet more people first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not Carol's biggest fan but still involved her. I think Thor, Strange and Wanda can all beat her in a fight, so she isn't the most powerful person around or anything. Thor beating her is the first step in knocking some sense into her. Of course there will be some more later. She's just lucky it wasn't as bad as Reign beating the hell out of Kara in Supergirl 3x9.
> 
> Next chapter, the Mind Stone operation continues, and the Guardians enter.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	4. Bunch of jackasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor, Loki and Carol meet the Guardians of the Galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

Earth, Wakanda

Vision lay on the table as Shuri worked on him, her machinery scanning the Mind Stone while she started working on getting it out of his head.

"How are we doing, sister?" T'Challa asked.

"It is going to take a few hours", Shuri said. "But we should get it out."

"I think right now, we can spare a few hours, King T'Challa", Vision said.

"Right you are, Vision", T'Challa said with a nod before walking off.

* * *

Same time, Space

"So we are supposed to find a team of people?" Carol asked Thor.

"Yeah, they're a team that flies around in Space and does good and bad stuff", Thor said. "They have had dealings with Thanos before. They will help us out if I and Loki talk to the best of our abilities."

"Yes, and my best is much better than yours", Loki reminded with a smirk.

"Well, I have improved recently, so don't count on it", Thor said back.

"I think we are close now", Heimdall said as the ship sped forwards before finally stopping before another ship- The Benatar.

Thor walked off to the communication room and communicated- "This is the Statesman, we are carrying Asgardians and some other species."

A voice which Thor and Loki instantly recognized as Rocket spoke back. " _Any of you have spare parts?"_

" _We don't need spare parts!"_ Quill's voice spoke back.

" _We do!"_ Rocket said.

" _No we don't!"_ Quill said back.

"We are here for a peaceful and important conversation", Thor said gently, not wanting to make these people suspicious of him or anything, since that would suck a lot. "Can we talk, please?"

There was some more arguing.

" _Let's call them, kill them, and take their stuff."_

" _Oh come on, Rocket! Not everything has to be about money. Well, a little bit, but not-"_

" _Let's do it!"_

" _But they want to talk!"_

" _Okay, we will talk, then take their stuff!"_

Then Gamora's voice spoke up. " _We will talk with you, don't worry. Ignore these two."_

"Finally", Loki said in relief.

"I was beginning to think you would have to show off your lightning", Heimdall said to Thor as everyone in the ship chuckled at his joke.

"Let's talk with them then", Carol said and all nodded.

* * *

Few minutes later, the Benatar

Thor, Loki and Carol stood face to face with the Guardians of the Galaxy- Peter Quill, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Teenage Groot, Drax and Mantis.

Groot was into his video game still, so he wasn't going to be part of the talking.

"So tell me, dude, what do you want to talk to us about?" Quill asked Thor.

"He is not a dude, Quill, you are a dude", Drax said as Quill turned to him. "He is a handsome, muscular man."

Thor and Loki exchanged amused looks at the familiar argument as Quill argued. "I'm muscular!"

"You are one sandwich away from fat", Rocket told him.

"You have gained a little weight", Drax said in agreement before turning to Thor. "He looks like a pirate had a baby with an angel."

Thor groaned while Loki and Carol both chuckled and Quill said. "Okay, I'm gonna commit, and get some dumbbells."

"You can't eat one of those", Rocket said.

"Okay, guys!" Carol called out as they all turned to her. "Important conversation, remember?"

"We're having one too", Quill said.

"This one is more important", Loki said. "Because it involves Thanos."

And with that, the three of them had the undivided attention of the Guardians of the Galaxy, or as Rocket called them, bunch of jackasses.

* * *

Later

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal. To bring balance to the universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre", Gamora told everyone.

Drax added. "Including my own."

Gamora then said. "If he gets all six Infinity Stones... he can do it with the snap of his fingers", she snapped her fingers to emphasize her point, "….like this."

"And you say you know what he's up to", Quill said just to be sure.

"We do, we have some sources", Thor simply said.

"I do too", Carol added to help him out.

"So, the Time Stone, Mind Stone, Reality Stone and Space Stone are safe with the Avengers right now", Thor said.

"The Avengers? Never heard of 'em", Quill said.

"We are Earth's Mightiest Heroes", Thor simply shrugged.

"What? Like Kevin Bacon?" Mantis asked.

"No, Kevin Bacon isn't among us", Thor said with a chuckle.

"So, where do you think he should go next?" Gamora asked.

"Xandar, as the Power Stone is there", Loki said before looking around, trying not to make eye contact with Gamora. "And no one knows where the Soul Stone is."

Thor noted Gamora's expression but didn't make any comment on it. Carol, however, did.

"Why are you making that face?" Carol asked as Gamora looked at her. "Do you know where it is?"

Gamora started. "I-"

"Tell us!" Carol snapped.

"Carol", Thor held her by the arm as she looked at him. "That was not so courteous."

"This is why you should not do the talking", Loki said to her, making her sigh and move back as he turned to Gamora. "So, do you know where it is?"

"Tell us, Gamora, please, we need to know", Quill said.

Gamora looked between the ground and them all, and finally made a decision as she looked at them all. "I do."

"For how long?" Quill asked.

"Quite some time", Gamora said. "I found a map that told the location of the Soul Stone, and I burnt it to ash, so Thanos can never know."

"Unfortunately, there is something else we found out", Thor said as the Guardians looked at them. "Thanos captured Nebula, and is currently torturing her."

The eyes of the Guardians were wide in horror as Gamora said. "We have to save her!"

"And risk facing Thanos", Loki pointed out. "He is powerful even without the Stones on him."

"So what do we do?" Gamora asked, clearly concerned.

"The Stone Thanos is going to come for is the Power Stone in some time", Thor explained. "And that would be on Xandar."

"So we should do there?" Drax asked.

Looking to the Guardians and Carol, Thor said. "You all should go to Xander as soon as possible, the Avengers would be coming there as well pretty soon."

"We can help them out", Quill agreed. "Plus, we're on good terms with those guys anyway, as good as we can be that is."

"You sure you want me to go with them?" Carol asked.

"Yes, I am sure", Thor said.

"Where are you going then?" Rocket asked.

"I am going to a place where I can get a weapon", Thor said.

"What kind of weapon are we talking about here?" Quill asked.

"The Thanos killing kind", Thor shrugged.

"Shouldn't all of us have one of those?" Quill inquired.

"You all lack the strength to wield it. Your bodies would crumble as your minds collapse", Thor said, enjoying the looks on their faces.

"So, I shall go with them then", Carol said and he nodded.

"What about my sister?" Gamora asked.

"By the time Thanos moves to Xandar, my weapon shall be complete", Thor explained. "It can transport me anywhere I want. Thanos will leave Nebula behind in the ship when he attacks, so when he is gone I will use my weapon to save her, and then we will be joining the fight at Xandar."

"Okay, that makes sense", Gamora sighed. "Please save her."

"I will", Thor assured.

"Good luck", Carol said.

"You too", Thor told her as he and Loki walked off together while Carol stayed with the Guardians.

"I did more talking than you", Thor told Loki who groaned and rolled his eyes as Thor chuckled.

* * *

Later, Statesman

"So where to now?" Valkyrie asked Thor.

"Nidavellir would be it", Thor told her. "Let's go there."

"Sure thing, bro", Korg said as Miek grunted, and they drove there.

* * *

Earth, Wakanda

Vision's eyes opened as he felt lighter, and realized there was no Mind Stone in his forehead now. He got up and noticed Shuri had it in the grip of some kind of machine.

"It is out of me", Vision simply said.

"How do you feel?" Shuri asked.

"Lighter, and less powerful", Vision said. "But better."

"Good to know, Vision", T'Challa said as he walked in. "I think it is time for us to join the rest now."

* * *

Same time, New York, Stark Tower

"So kid", Tony said as he led Peter to his lab. "I know you want to do your own thing, but for this fight, you should have this."

And then he opened a compartment, revealing the Iron Spider suit, and Peter geeked out at its very sight itself. "Whoa! That is even more awesome to look at in person!"

"I know right?" Tony asked.

"I will take it for the fight, but that's it", Peter said.

"I get it, kid. I get it", Tony assured him as he tapped his shoulder and walked out to see Strange having his hand on Natasha's broken one as energy glowed from him.

Then suddenly, Natasha's hand was healed, to her amazement. "Wow! Thanks. That seems handy."

"It is", Strange said.

"Thanks", Bucky thanked him as he nodded and walked off.

"Sorry about the hand again", Bucky apologized.

"Ah, it's all right, such stuff happens", Natasha assured him as they shared a kiss while Tony walked to Steve.

"So, where are we now?" Tony asked.

"Strange says the Mind Stone is now out of Vision and he's alive", Steve said, making Wanda nearby sigh in relief. "So far, so good."

"Let's hope it stays that way", Tony said.

"Yeah, me too", Steve agreed, though they still weren't completely sure of what would happen yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of this chapter.
> 
> I know chapters are short, but they will get longer once we get to the good stuff.
> 
> Hope the interactions with the Guardians were enjoyed as well.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	5. So it begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against Thanos at Xandar begins after all the strategizing is done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

Xandar

Nova Prime watched as the Benatar landed and out walked Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Mantis, Groot and Carol, with Quill, Gamora and Carol in the lead.

"Mr. Quill", Nova Prime greeted him.

"Nova Prime", Quill greeted back before turning to Rhomann Dey next to her. "Hey man, how you doing?"

"I am fine Quill, and looks like you people are doing good too", Dey noted and they nodded.

"So what brings you all here?" Nova Prime asked.

"It's pretty important", Gamora said as all they turned to look at her. "It's Thanos."

* * *

Later

They all stood together inside the base as Prime asked. "So you are sure he shall come to Xander in almost two weeks?"

"Yes, he moves to collect the Infinity Stones, and the Power Stone is the one closest to him", Gamora said. "So he will strike here first, no doubt about it."

"How many do we have?" Prime asked Dey.

"We have 6000 Nova Corps ready for battle, Nova Prime", Dey informed her.

"6000 will not be enough to battle army of Thanos", Gamora said.

"We can battle him", Drax said confidently.

"Dude, this Thanos guy is not actually a joke", Rocket said to him.

"I am Groot", Groot spoke up.

"Even he agrees", Rocket said. "And he's a teen."

"You've got me", Carol said. "I can do some stuff."

Then a glowing portal opened and Strange walked out of it, looking at them all, before he turned to Nova Prime. "I am Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts."

"Why are you here, Mystic?" Prime asked, and it was clear Mystics were a thing outside of Earth as well.

"I am aware Thanos approaches", Strange said, looking between them all. "And I am allies with the Avengers. We can help."

"Oh! The Avengers! Thor mentioned them!" Mantis said.

"Yeah, tall guy, not that good looking", Quill said.

"So he has met you then, that's good enough", Strange said as he looked at the Guardians and Carol. "You all shall help in defending this city too, right?"

"Yes, we will defend this city", Drax said.

He turned to Nova Prime. "Are you willing to give the Orb to me?"

"No, the Orb stays in Xandar", Prime said firmly. "We shall not give it away."

"Fair enough", Strange sighed. "So I guess Thanos will come here then, that's final."

"We shall prepare for him", Prime simply said.

* * *

Earth, New York, Avengers Tower, 2 days later

Vision's eyes opened. This was the second time in such a short time period that he had undergone a surgery, and now he could feel a gem in his forehead again where the Mind Stone used to be.

"So, how do you feel Vis?" Tony asked him, standing alongside Bruce and Wanda.

"I do not feel as powerful as before, but more powerful than I did without the Mind Stone", Vision said as he touched the gem.

"That's the Solar Gem, we've made it so that it increases your capacity for thinking by a thousand times", Bruce said. "And it can distribute sunlight through you, and you can use it to fire beams of sunlight at your enemies."

"Sounds cool", Wanda said.

"It is", Tony told her.

"Thank you for this", Vision said to them.

* * *

One week later, Xandar

The Avengers had finally arrived on the planet as well, along with Strange, and had been introduced to the Guardians and Carol.

" _I like you, raccoon guy"_ , Tony had said to Rocket, not wanting to call him a build-a-bear for obvious reasons.

" _I am not a raccoon",_ Rocket had said to him angrily, making everyone exchange amused looks.

Quill had fanboyed hard on realizing who Steve was. " _Oh my God! Its Captain America!"_

" _So, he is the Captain of a ship called America?"_ Drax had then asked.

And now, after figuring out everything about the Xandar's military, Steve had decided to tell what he thought would be a good plan for the upcoming fight. "So the Corps can make their barrier, it would be pretty hard to shatter it, and it would take time. And whil-"

"Or you could just send me around and I will destroy most of their army first, and then Thanos will have to come himself", Carol said, interrupting him.

Everyone exchanged annoyed looks. They had seen her arrogant attitude in the recordings, but seeing it in person was even worse.

"Hey, Glowstick!" Scott started, marching to her, when Sam and Hope held him back.

"Easy, tic-tac", Sam said to him.

"You are about as intimidating as an angry Muppet", Hope said to him.

"Like Animal?" Scott asked hopefully.

"More like Scooter", Hope said.

"Damn it! Not Scooter!" Scott groaned.

"Why are you letting him give the plan?" Drax asked Quill about Steve.

"Yes, its surprising you don't want to give your own plan", Gamora agreed with him.

Quill shrugged and replied. "Are you kidding me?! That's Captain America people! He inspired all of my great plans!"

"So he inspired you to dance too?" Drax asked, making the Avengers exchange amused looks again. "Because I cannot believe that. You are a dude, he is a handsome, muscular man, and men don't dance, Quill."

The Avengers and Carol were struggling to contain their snickers before Drax turned to Steve and said. "I shall fight with you, America."

"Good to know, it's my honor", Steve simply said to Drax, all deciding to roll with it.

Carol then started. "Okay then, like I was saying, you could send me aroun-"

Tony was sick of her attitude and rolled her eyes similarly to when Steve had said 'I understood that reference', and turning to her said. "You wanna take the reins, Glowstick?"

He gestured to the hammer resting nearby. "Pick that up, and it's your show. We'll follow your lead."

Carol smirked, thinking it'd be easy, as Steve said to Tony. "Come on Tony, I don't think that's needed."

"I think it is", Tony said. "FRIDAY, record the show."

" _Yes boss"_ , FRIDAY agreed.

Carol walked to Mjolnir and with one hand, she tried to lift it, and it didn't budge, so she put more strength into trying to raise it, but no result. Her confident smirk disappeared as she then used both hands, then started to glow as well, and her feet left the ground as she was hoping flying in the air would make it all easier, only to be met with failure once more.

She landed, dejected, as Steve walked to Mjolnir and picked it up before turning to the rest. "I think its best we all focus."

"Yeah, he's right", Peter said in agreement.

"Let's plan it out then", Natasha said as Steve walked back to the group, missing the stunned and crestfallen look on Carol's face, and also ignored Tony's grin. "So here's the plan-"

* * *

One week later, the Sanctuary II

Thanos sat on his hovering chair in his warship, his four children leaning before him.

"We are close to Xandar, father", Corvus Glaive informed him.

"The Power Stone still lies there", Ebony Maw told Thanos. "We shall take it soon."

"But some of the other Stones have shifted locations", Proxima Midnight said. "We cannot tell why."

Thanos simply looked at his Infinity Gauntlet, all of the slots were empty currently. "No matter where the Stones are, I will find them all, and erase half of all life with a snap of my fingers. After all- I am inevitable."

* * *

Same time, Xandar

"All right, so we have a plan", Steve said to everyone. "We shall face three armies- Sakaarans, Outriders and the Chitauri. We have one shot. The Chitauri won't be too hard, the Outriders are strong, we must be cautious, and the Sakaarans have powerful weapons of war. We must stay on the same page, and stick to the strategy. So all of you know what to do. We have one shot, so no mistakes or do-overs now. Our job is to minimize casualties and hold them off till Thor arrives, and prevent anyone from reaching the Orb. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're going to win." He looked to all those who had time-travelled with him as they exchanged knowing looks. "Whatever it takes."

"Good luck", Steve then said to everyone.

"He's pretty good at that", Rocket said.

"I know right?" Scott said.

"He's Captain America, what do you expect?" Quill asked.

That was when an alarm beeped all over the planet.

" _Enemy ships incoming. The Sanctuary II has entered Xandar's atmosphere."_

The people of the planet had already been evacuated in the week before Thanos' coming, so all of them were safe from whatever was going to happen next. No matter who won, the damage was going to be terrible.

But the Avengers had come here to win, and victory they would achieve.

* * *

Same time, the Sanctuary II

Nebula was suspended in midair as Thanos said to her. "My plan to snap away half of all life begins today, and you will do good to watch, beloved daughter."

Nebula said nothing as Thanos patted her head and walked away as he gave his orders. "Beam down the Sakaarans and Outriders!"

* * *

In the middle of the city, the Avengers stood together, looking up at the Sanctuary II covering the sky as Tony said. "And there it is, after all of this time."

"This is the last time we see it, I hope", Natasha told him.

"We will", Steve assured as they saw the Sanctuary II launch a beam downwards, and then several Outriders and Sakaarans were on the ground, the latter even moving some war machines to battle.

"Wait", Steve said.

* * *

"All Nova Corps, interlock and form a blockade, do not let anyone pass through", Nova Prime ordered.

* * *

The Nova Star Blasters all started coming together, connecting and locking in with each other as the yellow barrier all the Avengers and Guardians had seen before in different ways was formed.

The Sakaarans and Outriders rushed it, but the Sakaarans failed, while the Outriders managed to get through some of it due to their strength but the effort was enough to kill them.

"Hulk and fliers attack now!" Steve ordered.

And with that, Bruce took off his glasses with a smirk. "Time for these people to see a party trick."

He then transformed into Hulk, now looking a lot like he used to back in 2008, and he let out a loud roar of anger and wrath, before leaping away while Tony, Rhodes, Sam, Vision and Carol flew up into the air at full speed too.

As the Sakaarans and Outriders struggled against the barrier, Hulk leapt in their midst, causing a shockwave as many were crushed underneath him, and then he struck them with his arms, sending all of them flying here and there, and also kicked a few of them away before raising his hands. "HULK….SMASH!"

And then he brought his fists onto the ground, breaking it while there was another shockwave as many more Sakaarans and Outriders were taken out.

Some of the Outriders leapt at him, climbing him from all directions as they tried to pin him down, but he was too strong as he just kept throwing them all away.

"Incoming!" Tony quipped as he fired two repulsors, destroying the war machines of the Sakaarans, and then fired a laser, cutting some Outriders into two, though their upper halves still roared and grunted.

Rhodes took out his shoulder machine gun and fired at some more of the enemies, taking them down too while Carol flew high in the air, firing her blasts of energy at some more enemies being beamed down to prevent the ones on the ground from being reinforced.

Sam too fired his guns at the enemies on the ground, while Vision charged his Solar Gem from the sun's energy, getting a good amount of energy in the Gem, and fired a powerful yellow beam, decimating most of the ground forces.

Then the Benatar flew in, firing at the Sanctuary II directly and then maneuvering in the air to avoid being blasted by it while Quill boasted. "Dude, I am the best ship captain ever! Don't try anything!"

"Focus Quill!" Gamora snapped.

"Yeah, like how to get some equipment from their ship", Rocket added.

"I am Groot", Groot agreed.

Drax just laughed hysterically and Mantis, now knowing what to do, joined him in laughing.

The Sanctuary II continued firing at their ship, as well as Carol, making them dodge and weave, and used the opportunity to beam another huge group of Sakaarans and Outriders to the ground, the latter rushing at the barrier while the former dragged their war machines.

Steve raised and then twirled Mjolnir as dark clouds gathered in the sky, and he slammed the ground with the legendary hammer, bringing down a powerful bolt of lightning as many more of the Outriders and Sakaarans got hit, dying painfull or getting badly injured while their machines of war were destroyed.

" _Remember an old trick, buddy?"_ Bruce asked Hulk from within.

Hulk did a powerful thunderclap, destroying any remainder of the ground forces as Tony said. "You should do that more often."

"Hulk agree", Hulk said before saying in Bruce's voice. "I reminded him of it, now we'll remember to do it."

* * *

"So it begins", Nova Prime simply said inside of the base.

* * *

"Send out the Chitauri", Thanos now ordered.

"Yes, father", Maw said with a bow as he walked off.

"The Avengers and the Guardians", Thanos snarled. "Unruly wretches."

But how did they know he was coming to Xandar? And four of the Stones had ended up on Earth, with two of them having been taken to Earth recently. Thanos knew there had to be a connection here, it just didn't make sense if there wasn't one.

Whatever it was, once he got the Power Stone, he would take them all down.

* * *

The Chitauri flew out on their warships as several Leviathans flew out too, and Chitauri hopped out of them on long range grapples, scaling the buildings of the city as they roared at everything around them.

"Time for you all to do your jobs", Steve said to the rest of them.

"On it, Cap", Peter said as he swung away and webbed a Chitauri on a building, pulling him away and onto the ground, along with two more of them, and Wanda used her powers to collect some Chitauri soldiers together in a mass, and send them flying off into Space.

She then pointed at another Leviathan and red energy surrounded it as she destroyed all the Chitauri it contained before destroying it completely.

"Time to show how big I am", Scott said as he pressed a button and was Giant-Man. "HAHAHAHAHA!"

He rushed forward and punched one Leviathan hard on the head, taking it down easily as he said. "See! The future is happening early."

"Good thing Hill isn't here", Natasha said to Hope as she fired at one Chitauri, taking it down before flipping and getting behind another, shocking it.

"Tell me about it", Hope said as she turned miniature and flew around, firing her sting blasts at the enemies.

Clint took aim and fired right into the side of a Leviathan, hitting a Chitauri dead in the eye as it fell down and the arrow emanated flames, getting the other Chitauri as they screamed in pain while getting burnt, and the Leviathan roared too due to the pain it was experiencing.

One Chitauri charged him but T'Challa leapt at it and sliced it down, and the two exchanged a look as Clint said. "So you do care."

T'Challa simply chuckled.

Bucky fired his gun at some Chitauri, taking them down, before lifting one by the throat and slammed him hard on the ground, taking him down, and then spin kicked another away by many feet before spin punching one hard on the face, managing to take him down too.

Steve twirled Mjolnir and rose into the air, throwing the hammer at some more Sakaarans and Outriders the ship was trying to beam down, killing them all as Mjolnir returned to him while he hovered in the air, lightning cracking around them.

* * *

"Fire on the blockade", Thanos ordered.

"Yes father", Midnight said as she bowed before ordering. "Fire at the blockade!"

* * *

The Chitauri warships fired at the blockade, not that they did much damage, and were easily disposed by the fliers, Hulk or the Benatar, but those were all distractions as the guns of the Sanctuary II poured out in full force and fired at the blockade hard and fast, not taking a single break.

The Nova Corps grunted, trying to hold the formation, but there was only so much they could do. The bullets weren't going to break formation, but they would weaken them. Still, if this was it, they could hold on.

* * *

"Is this it?" Nova Prime taunted her absent foe. "Is this all you can conjure, Thanos?"

* * *

Maw stood at the opening of the Sanctuary II, watching the guns fire at the blockade. He then noticed the fliers turning their attention on the Sanctuary II, clearly intending to take it down or fight it.

He then noticed the weakening blockade, and saw there was one tiny gap through it, via which a Starship was exposed to him. And one tiny gap was all the Maw needed.

Before the fliers or the Benatar could engage their ship, Maw raised his hand and pressed it into a fist, and the Starship shattered into bits, killing the pilot who was none other than Rhomann Dey, and that was all needed to destroy the barrier as the Sanctuary II fired through the gaps, destroying more of their ships while the rest swayed.

* * *

Nova Prime's eyes widened in horror now.

* * *

"Oh no!" Carol said as another beam hit the ground and more Outriders and Sakaarans charged through, this time not having anything to worry about other than Hulk and the fliers.

Tony, Carol, Rhodes, Sam, Vision, Steve and Hulk combined their attacks, taking down many more of them.

Vision and Tony fired at Steve's shield as the beams were deflected and went all around, killing some opponents before Steve threw his shield and Mjolnir at it, the sonic wave killing more.

Rhodes, Sam and Carol continued firing from above as Steve took Mjolnir and Hulk lifted him, tossing him into a Chitauri war gorilla, his hammer smashing the gorilla on the face and turning it into a splatter while Steve fired a powerful bolt of lightning at Tony, enhancing his power as he fired powerful repulsors at many more opponents, decimating them all.

But in spite of their efforts, now the bad guys were getting through to the interior, taking on the Nova Corps and killing them.

* * *

Same time, Earth, Sanctum Sanctorum

Strange stood in a center, Wong by his side, many more Masters of the Mystic Arts around the two of them as Strange said. "Thanos plans to kill half of all life in the Universe with a snap of his fingers. It will take us alongside the Avengers to stop him. If we don't, the consequences will be drastic. I implore to you all, not as Masters of the Mystic Arts, but as humans who live in this Universe, to join me and Wong in stopping Thanos. Please."

* * *

Same time, Nidavellir

The Statesman landed as Thor, Loki, Heimdall and Valkyrie walked out.

"The place is frozen", Thor said sadly.

"My fault", Loki pointed out as Heimdall noticed the model of the Infinity Gauntlet.

"Thanos' gauntlet looks like that?" Valkyrie asked.

"Yes", Thor said when he sensed something and leapt back, avoiding Eitri's kick as Thor said. "Stop, Eitri! It is me, Thor! Heimdall and Loki are here too, and this is Valkyrie."

Loki and Valkyrie waved as Eitri roared. "You were supposed to protect us! Asgard was supposed to protect us!"

Thor knew this conversation needed to happen like exactly like he had seen in the recordings.

"Asgard is destroyed", Thor announced, surprising Eitri as Thor pointed at the model and asked. "Eitri, the glove. What did you do?"

Eitri collapsed against a shelf in grief. "300 Dwarves lived on this ring. I thought if I did what he asked, they'd be safe. I made what he wanted. A device capable of harnessing the power of the Stones. Then he…then he killed everyone anyway. All except me."

After pausing for a moment, Eitri recalled Thanos' words to him. ""Your life is yours," he said. "But your hands are mine alone"", He lifted his hands, encased in metal from Thanos.

"Eitri, you do not need your hands to forge a weapon", Loki assured.

"Yes, a true smithy always remembers", Heimdall agreed.

"Nothing can make one forget", Valkyrie added.

In a comforting tone Thor assured him. "Loki, Heimdall and Valkyrie are right. Eitri, this isn't about your hands. Every weapon you've ever designed, every axe, hammer, sword...it's all inside your head. Now, I know it feels like all hope is lost. Trust me, I know."

He drew on when his mother had died when he said that, and seeing his future self's pain, as well as Asgard's destruction.

In a determined tone, Thor then said. "But together, you and I, we can kill Thanos."

Eitri looked up at Thor with contemplating eyes before finally standing up.

"Very well", he said. "Come with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this chapter ends.
> 
> So the battle has started, and I'm trying to make it logical, with strategies and all that. No matter how realistic I made it though, I am sure this was more logical than the Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones Season 8 by Dumb and Dumber. Got the LOTR references? *winks*
> 
> Thank you to Brainstorm Sorcerer for the suggestion with Carol.
> 
> RIP Rhomann Dey, but in a war, there are casualties.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	6. Bring me Thanos!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against Thanos and his forces intensifies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> So this chapter continues the big battle once more.

With the barrier formed by the Nova Starships now gone, the fighting wasn't a strategized military operation from either side anymore. It was completely chaotic now, with anyone anywhere. Remnants of the Starships were still lying on the ground, burning badly, and several charred bodies were visible, others were not.

Sakaarans and Outriders were all in the middle of the city, fighting the Avengers and Nova Corps in their way, all in a mass of uncoordinated duels.

Bucky punched one Outrider twice, sending it down, and managed to put his gun up and shoot a Sakaaran point blank before it could attack him, killing it, only to be punched down by an Outrider as it came on top of him, trying to kill him when Natasha shocked it with her Widow's Bite from behind, managing to stun it enough for Bucky to knock it out as she helped him up.

Another Outrider leapt at her, pinning her down, but Bucky pulled it off of her and as they struggled, he snapped its neck, and this time he helped her up. Both had bruises and cuts on their faces.

They just exchanged a nod and continued fighting.

Sam was flying in the air, taking on the Chitauri as he fired at them on their ships, taking some down, but his suit had taken some damage too, mostly from being rammed on the sides by their fast chariots.

Clint was now up on a building, having been dropped there by Sam, and was shooting any chariots he could, as well as Outriders or Sakaarans, though he was running out.

T'Challa was surrounded and covered by multiple Outriders as they grabbed him and tossed him away and rushed him again, but in the split second, he leapt up and punched the ground hard with his fist, the kinetic energy discharge from his suit sending them all flying back, giving him the reprieve he needed, as he panted heavily on the ground.

Wanda and Hope had formed an unlikely team of sorts. Wanda used her powers to take down any Chitauri, Outrider or Sakaaran in the immediate vicinity, as well as destroy Leviathans with her energy, while Hope took on and beat any enemy that got too close, as she was too small to be seen, and Wanda's durability wasn't any different from any other normal human.

As some Chitauri and Sakaarans tried to fire at them, Wanda stopped them telekinetically and sent the creatures flying off while keeping their guns, and turning them on some Outriders, fired, making them roar and back off before she flung them all away too.

Two Chitauri came nearby as she did that but Hope enlarged and leapt at one, making it fall down while she fired her stingers at the other, taking it down. She then shrunk to avoid being attacked by the Chitauri she had pinned and going near its mouth, fired two powerful stingers, taking it down finally.

Scott had punched out about 5 more Leviathans after his first one, and was now smacking the Chitauri chariots around, but he was tiring out, and the giant form still took out a lot if he was in it for too long, and it had been quite long now. He was tiring out. His movements were sloppy, and he was staggering too.

Peter looked up to see a Leviathan flying down at some Nova Corps and firing a web, pulled hard, trying to pull it away. The Leviathan still managed to fly towards them, pulling Peter along with it, only for him to brandish the four spider legs, as he tried to hold on to the building's roof.

"Come on Spider-Man", he grunted to himself, still trying to hold the Leviathan. "Come on, come on, come on, COME ON!"

And with that, he pulled really hard with a roar, straining his muscles, though the Iron Spider Armor managed to save him from putting too much strain on himself, and with that, the Leviathan was pulled away and sent smashing into the building as Peter leapt away to save himself.

Steve, Tony, Hulk, Rhodes, Vision, Carol and the Guardians were holding up the best so far against Thanos' army, the Avengers and Carol due to their flight and durability, and the Guardians due to still being in their ship.

Steve leapt into the air, twirling Mjolnir, and smashed it on the ground, the resulting lightning killing multiple opponents, while Tony went into a Leviathan's mouth and caused a huge explosion, taking it down, and this time due to his much better armor, he wasn't damaged at all. "I guess the Tale of Jonah got a much better ending this time, woohoo!"

He flew higher while Rhodes fired his own repulsors, as well as his machine gun at the Sakaarans.

Vision flew at a Chitauri gorilla and rammed him to the ground before turning intangible to avoid some shots and turning tangible again, fired a beam from his Solar Gem, decimating many more enemies.

Hulk grabbed a Leviathan and using his much higher level of strength from before, twirled it around, and hurled it at a group of Chitauri Gorillas, taking them all down while he roared.

Carol punched one Outrider back and kicked another away before glowing and causing a small explosion, sending many more opponents around her flying off by many feet.

The Sanctuary II fired at the Benatar again and they were scraped badly as Quill said. "He's such a jerk!"

"Tell me about it", Gamora said as they tried to dodge another shot but due to the scrape, the ship was slower and it was hit again.

"Ah man! This sucks!" Rocket said. "The ship is going down! Now we really should take components from Thanos' ship!"

"Talk about it after we've saved ourselves", Quill said.

"I am Groot", Groot said.

"So how will we save ourselves?" Drax asked.

"Yes, we are going to go down with this!" Mantis added.

"With a crash landing, idiots!" Rocket yelled as he and Quill drove the ship together, bringing it down for the safest crash landing they could muster, and the Benatar now shut off with the crash landing.

"Let's go", Quill said as he put on his helmet and getting out, flew away, with the rest all jumping out behind him as Quill flew up and fired at Chitauri chariots, taking two down. "That's for my ship."

"They didn't fire at it though", Gamora muttered as she took down three Outriders in a spin motion.

"I AM GROOT!" Groot roared as he elongated his hand and stabbed through several Outriders, lifting them up and throwing them all away.

"I shall best thee, armies of Thanos!" Drax roared as he leapt at one Outrider, stabbing it multiple times.

"Yeah, come and get some Space Dogs, get some, get some, get some!" Rocket yelled as he fired at the opponents coming at him, and then Bucky arrived, lifting him up, and they spun around, firing at more enemies before Bucky put him down.

"How much for the gun?" Rocket asked.

"Not for sale", Bucky said, rolling his eyes as he remembered the conversation.

"All right, how much for the arm?" Rocket asked.

Bucky chuckled and walked off, while Rocket muttered. "I'll get that arm."

The battle against Thanos' army was on, and as intense as ever.

The Sanctuary II then took out its guns and fired on the ground once more, only for multiple portals to open on the ground as well as buildings as the Masters of the Mystic Arts appeared on the scene, opening portals again to random places with nothing in them to block the shots from the ship.

"The cavalry is here", Steve quipped with a smile as all sighed in relief.

"So, managed to convince them at last, didn't you?" Tony asked as he flew to Strange.

"Yeah, fortunately", Strange said as he summoned a Mystical shield to deflect some more shots that came at him.

"Do we win in this?" Tony asked.

"I cannot tell", Strange simply said before flying off.

"Fair enough", Tony muttered before upper-cutting a Chitauri gorilla nearby, sending it flying up and crashing to the ground, taking it down.

Wong fired his Mystic blast at two Outriders, taking them down.

Strange then hovered in the air and multiple Stranges appeared, all of them taking out whips made of Eldritch energy and restraining multiple Chitauri chariots with those whips, and pulling hard, took them all down, crashing them before they assembled back into the real Strange who looked up at the Sanctuary II, the guns having been taken back again.

Now with Mystics here, the tide was turned, for now.

* * *

Thanos looked down at the Mystics' arrival and ordered the Black Order. "Go to the planet, and join the battle."

All four of them bowed and went away together as Thanos sat down, snarling.

* * *

Same time, Nidavellir

"Make sure the handle isn't lost", Thor said to Heimdall and Loki. He also had a new eye now which he had gotten in Nidavellir. This one was much better than what Rocket had given him in the recordings, and it wasn't up Rocket's ass first, fortunately.

"Will do", Heimdall nodded.

Thor then walked to the beam of the forge. "Allfathers, give me strength."

"You understand, boy? You're about to take the full force of a star. It'll kill you", Eitri warned.

"Only if I die", Thor countered.

"That's what he meant", Valkyrie said.

Thor held the parts and with all his might, pulled as the beam shot out through him and the mechanism started working.

Thor roared as Eitri told him to hold it and saw the metal melting in fires. Thor roared as the energy burnt him.

"Brother!" Loki cried out in concern, even though he knew Thor could survive this.

Eitri poured the metal into the mold and started forging as Thor fell down but Loki used telekinesis to steady him, gently putting him down.

Eitri tore the forge open as Valkyrie ran to Thor, trying to wake him. "Thor! Thor, wake up!"

Heimdall ran to the forge and using his eyesight, found the true handle, which was also made of Uru, like the blade and hammer, and handed it to Eitri.

Eitri slammed down on the pieces of the ax and the handle, joining them together as the ax was completed at last.

The ax started floating as lightning ran through it while Thor's hand twitched, lightning running through it.

And then the ax flew through the room right into Thor's hand as lightning engulfed him, and when it was gone, he was standing up, his body covered by armor, and a red cape flowing behind him.

"Hail Thor, All-Father, Guardian of the Nine Realms and the rest of the Universe!" Heimdall announced as he, Loki, Valkyrie and Eitri got down on a knee, bowing to their King, now All-Father.

Thor lowered the newly formed Stormbreaker and nodded, humbly accepting the praise as Eitri ran to the forge. "Come Loki, there is some more!"

Loki ran after him as Eitri slammed down again, forming a big trident, about the same size as Loki's old scepter, and it was formed too, also made of Uru.

"This is yours", Eitri said as Loki bent down and picked up his new weapon.

"Now this will more than do", Loki said with a smile as he turned to Eitri. "Thank you."

"Yes, you have our humblest gratitude, Eitri", Thor smiled.

"Thank me by killing that bastard", Eitri said.

"So, what do we do now?" Valkyrie asked.

"First, we find a friend, then we go to Xandar while also saving Nebula", Thor said. "It is time for us to join the battle at last."

"Let us find the friend then", Heimdall said with a nod.

* * *

Xandar

Cull Obsidian swung his hammer, sending several of the Nova Corps flying off effortlessly, before Drax leapt at him, stabbing multiple times, but Cull grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground, only for Mjolnir to send him flying off as Steve caught it on return, and he gave Drax a hand.

"Thank you, America's Captain, you are truly honorable", Drax said as Steve helped him up.

"So are you", Steve said as they continued battling.

Scott was tired out now, and falling to his knees, he shrunk to normal size, lying on the ground. "Oh….oh god no…..!"

Proxima came over him and was about to stab him.

"NO!" Hope yelled as she leapt at Midnight, enlarging to normal size, but Midnight managed to toss her to the other side with her three-pronged spear, sending her to the ground as she groaned in pain.

Midnight raised the spear over her but a blast from Wanda sent her flying off while Wanda gave Hope a hand, helping her up, and they knelt near Scott, trying to help him.

Glaive struck down two Corps and struck T'Challa next but he leapt back to avoid before flip-kicking Glaive, staggering him, but Glaive ducked to avoid a punch and sliced T'Challa's abdomen, his weapon going through the Vibranium as T'Challa grunted, but then Peter swung, kicking Glaive away. "You okay, Your Highness?"

"Thank you, Peter", T'Challa thanked him.

Vision was about to fire his Solar Gem again when he screamed in pain, Maw telekinetically holding him. "You seem formidable, but your powers are below mine."

Maw changed his density, about to crash him through the ground, when Strange turned his hands and mystical ropes came out of the ground, binding Maw who grunted, while Vision staggered.

Maw used his own magical powers to free himself and flew off.

The heroes looked around. The fighting was rather even now, and many Corps and Mystics had died, while Thanos' army seemed endless in comparison.

They were slowly being surrounded, and it looked like there was no means of escape.

Then suddenly a light breeze started blowing in the area, before it picked up pace, turning into a strong wind, almost storm like.

"What's happening?" Peter wondered as he swung next to Steve. "Is it the end of the world? I'm freaking out. Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Because I can hear it", Steve said.

"Hear what?" Peter asked.

Steve said one word. "Thunder."

And then, in that moment, a beam of light shot down from the heavens, incinerating all the Outriders, Sakaarans and Chitauri standing there, and it also hit a back portion of the Sanctuary II, incinerating it as well.

Stormbreaker flew out of the Bifrost, flying and twirling in the air as lightning ran through it. It killed several scores of Outriders, Sakaarans and Chitauri, including the ones that were upon the heroes. It flew back towards the Bifrost which dissipated as Thor caught it in his hand on return, with Loki, Heimdall, Valkyrie, Sif, Korg, Miek and a confused Nebula standing with him.

"What happened?" Nebula wondered.

"We saved you", Loki simply said.

The back portion of the ship was where Nebula had been kept, and by having the Bifrost go through there, Thor had made sure to rescue her.

All watched in relief as Hulk said in Bruce's voice. "You guys are so screwed now!"

"BRING ME THANOS!" Thor roared as lightning surged through him while Cull and Midnight watched in fear.

Thor charged and leapt up, Stormbreaker raised as lightning emanated from him and the now darkened skies. He then brought Stormbreaker down on the ground, with the exploding lightning killing more than 100 Outriders, Sakaarans and Chitauri as the ground they were on became a smoldering crater.

As some other opponents fired, Loki twirled his new trident and the bullets turned to water while he smacked the ground and they were sent flying off by a powerful telekinetic blast.

Valkyrie swiftly cut down five of them while Sif leapt into the air and stabbed through two Outriders before ripping her sword out and chopping off the heads of two Sakaarans.

Korg fired his laser gun with a roar as Miek swung around with the blades, and Heimdall too swung his sword around, killing more of them.

Nebula was suddenly tossed a sword and caught it as Gamora ran next to her and gave her a hug, surprising Nebula, but she still returned it.

As they parted Gamora said. "Are you good to fight?"

"I am", Nebula said, and with that, both sisters attacked together.

* * *

Thanos looked down at the battle angrily, while his ship shook slightly due to the damage a portion of it had taken from being hit by Thor's Bifrost, and unknowingly echoing something Loki had said 6 years ago, gave his order.

"Send the rest."

* * *

As the battle continued, multiple more of the Chitauri, Leviathans, Chitauri Gorillas, Outriders and Sakaarans arrived, and there numbers were larger than ever.

Thor flew up into the air and with a roar, slammed his ax down in the middle, the lightning explosion sending many of them flying off as he started slicing and dicing, and Steve, Tony and Carol flew to him.

As Thor sliced one, Steve struck another with Mjolnir, sending it flying off and then Thor noticed Steve was carrying it, making his eyes widen in shock and happiness. "Oh! Mjolnir! It is repaired! How did this happen?"

"Its pieces were still lying where Hela broke it, so Strange fixed it and gave it to me", Steve said.

"You are worthy of it so you should wield it in this fight", Thor said.

"Thank you Thor", Steve said humbly as they turned to the fight again.

"You came right on time, Point Break", Tony told him. "But then again, you are the God of Entrances."

They all chuckled at that as Carol said. "The ship is troubling us."

"I know", Thor said as the guns of the Sanctuary II were pointed at them again.

Before it could fire, Thor let out a loud and mighty roar and flew up into the air, lightning cracking around him and the now darkened skies, and he smashed through the ship, shattering a huge portion of it while he managed to find himself in the center of it, right in front of Thanos' chair.

Thanos looked at him calmly and said. "Thor Odinson, you may think you can fight and defeat me and my army, but you cannot stop what is coming. There are many actors in this grand drama, and I, Thanos, appear to be the only participant with a full grasp on the situation."

"I suggest you grasp something right now", Thor said and let out a roar as lightning emanated from him and his ax as well as the sky, and hit the ship from all directions, making Thanos roar in pain as he was hit too, and the ship was destroyed, crashing down to the ground while everyone else watched.

"Well, at least the ship is down", Tony commented.

"But Thanos isn't", Steve said as they exchanged a steely gaze. This was about to get even more intense now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I combined Thor's IW and EMH entries for this one, and hope all enjoyed Sif returning as well as Strange, Wong and the Mystics coming to help out.
> 
> And next chapter, Thanos shall finally join the battle himself.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	7. Clash against the Titan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanos finally joins the battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

Steve, Tony, Hulk, Vision and Carol made their way to the site of the ship's crash. Smoke was still rising up, and the pieces of the ship were on fire mostly.

As they walked closer, they saw Thor standing up, picking up Stormbreaker, and as they looked to the front, they saw the smoke in front of them clear, revealing Thanos on one knee, wearing his helmet, the Infinity Gauntlet in his hand, with the slots empty, and his sword the Thanoscopter planted right next to him.

Thanos looked up at the Avengers and said. "My home was beautiful. Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."

"Genocide", Steve snarled in disgust, remembering Thanos had this conversation with Strange in the recordings.

"But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike", Thanos clarified.

"Still murder, Thanos", Tony said.

"They called me a madman, Stark", Thanos said and Tony had to make a surprised face at Thanos knowing his name, so as to not make him suspect there was anything wrong. "You are not the only one cursed with knowledge."

He then said. "They called me a madman. Then what I predicted came to pass."

"So, you're a fortune-teller?" Carol quipped.

"I'm a survivor", Thanos said.

"You will murder trillions", Hulk snarled in Bruce's voice.

"I do not want what happened to my world to happen to others, and I shall take every step to ensure it does not come to pass", Thanos said. "You are unruly wretches, standing in my way. But you are firm in what you stand for as well, so for that, you Avengers have my respect."

Then, he charged at full speed and punched Thor hard, sending him flying back into the rest of the Avengers, making them all fall down as the ground was damaged.

Thor was the first to stand back up as Thanos marched to him, now looking angry. "So while I shall kill half of all life, I will kill all of you unruly wretches, slowly, painfully."

"You are a monster, Thanos, and we are going to stop you", Thor said as he started hovering in the air.

Thanos smirked in challenge and ran at Thor, who flew at him at full speed, and then Stormbreaker and Thanoscopter clashed, forming a shockwave that cleared the area near them.

Thanos then grabbed Thor and leapt high in the air with him, throwing him into a building as he crashed into it too.

Thor got up as Thanos looked down angrily before hurling Thanoscopter into the air. The sword flew around, shattering the columns of the floor, and the ceiling came down, destroying the ground as Thor hovered in the air again.

Thanos caught his sword on return and with a smirk, leapt away while Thor flew after him but Thanos grabbed him and in a spin motion, tossed him away again, making him smash through many buildings as he crashed on the ground again, while the rest watched with wide eyes.

Thor eventually walked out of the last building into which he had crashed, as Thanos leapt in front of him and kicked a machine of war at him. Thor sliced it into with his ax but Thanos took the opportunity and leapt at him, punching him hard, staggering him away.

Thor dodged two swings from his sword and blocked another before slicing his abdomen, making Thanos slice his shoulder in retaliation and punch him back.

Thor managed to steady himself but the ground underneath was broken.

Thor ducked to avoid another swing from Thanos and hit him with a powerful lightning bolt, sending him falling back, and leaping at him, punched him down.

Before he could attack again, Thanos got back up and kicked him back. Thor damaged the ground as he fell on it.

As he got up, Thanos punched him back again, before giving him an uppercut. Thor was sent flying up, his back hitting the building behind him and damaging it, before Thor managed to steady himself and hover at the building's top, looking down at Thanos.

"You are a mighty warrior, but this shall end with your demise, Odinson", Thanos snarled at him.

Thor did not reply as Thanos started jumping up on the building, destroying parts of it on hitting them, and Thor flew back down to meet him head-on.

Their weapons clashed hard again, forming a shockwave that destroyed the whole building while lightning emanated from Thor, sending Thanos flying back again on the top of another building, damaging it as Thor landed too.

Then suddenly all of the debris nearby started rising up into the air and flew at Thor, who used Stormbreaker to slice it, while Thanos turned to look at Maw, who was doing this.

"Go father", Maw said and Thanos leapt off the building with a nod, running towards the headquarters.

That was when a strong punch hit his face, sending him flying back as Hulk now stood in his way, marching towards him.

"The mindless beast", Thanos said as he swung his sword but Hulk managed to dodge before punching Thanos' abdomen, making him gasp before Hulk gave him an uppercut, staggering him back.

"Not anymore", Hulk said in Bruce's voice, shocking Thanos before his voice changed. "Time to die."

Thanos swung again but Hulk got behind him and picking up a chain, wrapped it around Thanos' throat, making Thanos drop his sword as he tried to free himself. Hulk picked up Thanos' sword with his other hand stabbed his shoulder, making him roar in pain and anger, while Hulk wrapped his feet around Thanos to throw him off balance.

Hulk continued pulling the chain, slowly strangling Thanos who was on his knees now, gritting his teeth and gasping for breath, before he reached to his shoulder and with a grunt, pulled the sword out, using it to chop the chain off of his neck, making Hulk stagger back as he gasped for breath.

Getting back up, he turned around and stabbed Hulk in the abdomen, making him roar in pain before Thanos pulled his sword out and kicked Hulk away.

Thanos then ran towards the base again while Hulk ran after him but then looked up to see Cull Obsidian dropping two Corps onto the ground, and so broke stride to save them instead.

Then suddenly Thanos was hit on the face by Mjolnir, sending him flying back as Steve caught Mjolnir on return and raising Mjolnir, brought it down, the lightning hitting Thanos hard and Steve leapt at him just as he got up.

The two grappled, gritting their teeth before Steve kicked Thanos and Thanos punched him, both falling away as Thanos' sword fell down, and Mjolnir also fell near him.

Thanos got up and grasping Mjolnir, tried to pick up, but nothing happened, so he used both of his hands but it still didn't budge.

Then a hand reached over. "Here, let me try."

And with that, Steve gave Thanos an uppercut on the jaw, making him stagger back as he picked Mjolnir back up and threw his shield.

Thanos deflected it with his sword but Steve threw Mjolnir at the shield and the shockwave sent Thanos to his knees while Steve leapt and kneed him, and then he was hit by a repulsor on the face, staggering him as Tony flew and kicked him on the face, and then enlarged his hands into giant battering rams, hitting Thanos on the face again and sending him down.

He then turned his right hand into a blade and leapt at Thanos, intending to stab his throat, but Thanos grabbed his hand at the last moment and broke off the blade, before stabbing Tony's shoulder, making him gasp as he got flashbacks to being stabbed in the recording.

Thanos threw him off and got back up as Steve leapt at him with Mjolnir, but timing it right Thanos grabbed his neck and tossed him away too, before rushing to the command center again.

The others were too engrossed in the fight to stop him, and those who could were all distracted or taken out temporarily.

Thanos rushed into the center, swinging his sword and killing three Corps who tried to take him out, and smashed through the door. The Corps fired at him but Thanos twirled his sword, deflecting all of the shots, and then Glaive and Midnight ran to his side, rushing the Corps.

"We will take care of them, father", Midnight assured as Thanos rushed up, leaping to higher points in the building and damaging the parts where he landed.

He then saw a bunch of Corps aiming their weapons at him but he didn't care and simply swung his sword, chopping all of them before kicking in the door, to see Nova Prime and three other Corps standing there, aiming at him.

"You shall not get what you came for", Prime said to him.

"Your courage is as remarkable as your foolishness laughable", Thanos said as the Corps fired but Thanos deflected their shots and with a swing of his sword, sliced them all down before marching at Prime.

That was when someone leapt at him from behind and sliced his face with a sword and he realized it was Nebula as she leapt in front of him.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance", Nebula snarled at Thanos.

"It would have been a waste of parts!" Thanos roared at her as she sliced his hand, then his face twice before Thanos kicked her back into Prime, making them both crash into a wall and go through it.

He then sliced open their vaults and out fell the Orb from one of them as he caught it before it could fall onto the ground.

He opened it, seeing the Power Stone glowing purple, and said. "Finally."

With that, he picked up the Stone, roaring in pain as its energy hurt his hand, but he was strong enough to resist it, and slowly moved it towards his Infinity Gauntlet, and put it in his slot, roaring as the power of an Infinity Stone surged through him, and he felt the power too.

He then glared at Nebula and Prime and as Nebula charged again, he fired a blast from the Power Stone, sending her crashing out of the building to the ground, while he leapt down and out of the building, marching towards her.

He then fired another blast at her but Strange came in the way and used a spell, turning the blast into waves of water before firing a mystical blast of energy at Thanos but he used his newfound power to shatter the blast, staggering Strange back due to his strength.

Strange then used the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, grabbing Thanos' hand in it as he pulled hard, trying to prevent him from closing his fist as Thanos grunted.

Steve and Tony then flew down and started pulling the Gauntlet out, gritting their teeth as it was pretty hard to do, but they would do it.

Thanos tried to punch with his other hand but Hulk grabbed it with both of his arms, roaring at Thanos' face as he didn't let go, while Thanos glared angrily.

"You shall rue this day, father", Nebula said to him as Thanos looked at her in anger, still trying to pull his fist back from Steve and Tony, while Strange didn't let go.

Then suddenly Strange saw several pointed pieces of debris flying at him and unfortunately had to use one hand to deflect them, but that was all Thanos needed to pull his fist back, punching Steve and Tony away before punching Hulk on the face, staggering him back, and with a blast of the Power Stone, sent him flying off too.

Before Strange could do anything, Thanos hit him with a blast of the Stone and he was also sent flying off and knocked out.

And then, he pressed his fist, energy surrounding Nebula as she screamed in pain. "Rue this day, shall I?"

Nebula continued screaming as Thanos said. "Even if I do, you won't be here to see it."

Steve got up, hurling Mjolnir at Thanos, but before it could hit him, Thanos twirled his fist, and Nebula shattered into many pieces, just as Thanos was hit on the chin and sent flying off.

Gamora and Quill arrived at the scene at that very moment as Gamora's jaw dropped, her eyes wide in tears and pain as she fell to her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No, no. My sister."

"You bastard!" Quill snarled at Thanos who got back up, looking at the Avengers and Guardians around him.

"She died for what she believed in, I will make sure she is remembered for that", Thanos said coldly as they all glared at him. "But I shall not allow anyone to stand in my way."

Thor flew down, while Tony and Hulk got up too, and Carol and Vision flew to face Thanos as well.

"Avengers", Steve said, raising Mjolnir, the desire to avenge Nebula high. "Assemble!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes. I killed off Nebula. RIP Nebula (and I meant Rest In Peace, not the other thing!). See, this is war, and its not the nameless soldier who dies, people we love and care about are the ones who lose their lives.
> 
> And, the Avengers messed with time, it always messes back. So if Gamora survives in here, it's someone else, in this case, Nebula who dies in her place, unfortunately.
> 
> Anyway, just because she's gone doesn't mean she cannot be avenged.
> 
> Also, thank you to some of my reviewers for scene suggestions and hope those were enjoyed.
> 
> See you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	8. Wrath of the Titan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against Thanos reaches its climax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> Also, I forgot it last chapter since we don't celebrate it here, so belated Happy Thanksgiving, and you can consider this chapter my gift.

Tony formed a blade and leapt at Thanos but was tossed away while Steve threw his shield, which was deflected but he used the opportunity to fire a bolt of lightning from Mjolnir, but Thanos blocked with the Power Stone in time as Thor flew at him, but his blow was blocked too.

Carol fired at Thanos but he rolled away to avoid being hit and put up the Power Stone to block Hulk's punch as well as Vision flew at him, turning intangible, but Thanos leapt back and punched the ground with his fist, sending away shockwaves which blinded the android for a moment.

Quill flew into the air, firing shots at him but Thanos was mostly just annoyed by those, and then he found himself being surrounded in red mist as he was lifted into the air, and saw Wanda using her powers to lift him up, her eyes glowing red as she did so.

She was about to use her powers to chip away his armor when he pressed his fist and fired a blast from the Power Stone, almost hitting her but Tony managed to fly her away in time, though this freed Thanos from her grip of course.

Drax rushed Thanos from behind, hitting his leg with his blade, but before he could attack again, Thanos just kicked him back while Gamora struck his face in anger, a tear rolling down her cheek, and struck him three times again, trying to stab, but he just grabbed the blade and hurled her away to the other side.

"You disappoint me, daughter", he told her before turning around and causing another blast from the Power Stone, which scattered almost all of his opposition away into different directions.

He then rushed Peter, who had just swung down, and grabbing him by the throat, slammed him to the ground, as Peter gulped, remembering when the same thing had happened to him in the recordings.

Then Thanos raised him up and punched his mask a few times, and it started falling to pieces, eventually only half of it remaining, and then Thanos began choking Peter who gasped for breath.

Then suddenly Tony flew in hard, ramming into the Mad Titan as both fell down, making him drop Peter.

Thanos got up first and pelted Tony with a few punches, slowly breaking off his armor as Tony raised his arms to protect himself from harm.

That was when Carol rammed into Thanos, sending him down again while she was on top of him, and punched his face multiple times with her energy, roaring madly, while Thanos' head was sent down after every blow she gave him, shattering the ground that was underneath him.

When she was done, she started panting, and to her horror, Thanos gave her a bone-chilling smirk and asked. "Feel better?"

With that, he punched her hard, sending her flying off into the sky as he staggered back up, looking at the battle.

Thor, Steve and Hulk were busy battling some more of loyal army that had arrived. While they were nothing compared to the more powerful Avengers, they were good fodder.

Tony, Peter and Carol had been downed by him, and the rest were also still out because of the blast he had conjured from the Power Stone, though they were staggering up slowly, so he needed to take them out before they could do a thing.

As he marched forwards, T'Challa leapt at him from behind and slashed through his armor from the back, before leaping over his head and landing a scratch on the Mad Titan's cheek. He landed and leapt for another attack but Thanos caught him, and punched him with so much force that the Panther Habit was overloaded, dazing the King.

Thanos then dropped him to the ground as T'Challa groaned, and when he looked up, he saw Thanos about to land another blow on him. That was when the White Wolf jumped leaped in, a lot of kinetic energy charged up in his arm.

He punched Thanos hard on the face with that, and it actually sent Thanos off, while Bucky landed.

And then Hope, Natasha, Sam, Rhodes, Clint and a squad of Nova Corps started firing relentlessly at Thanos, trying to keep him at bay. The bullets and lasers landed as Thanos growled in frustration while an awakened Scott grew again, reaching 50 feet.

"Take this, scrotum-chin!" Scott roared as he brought his oversized fist down on Thanos, but then felt a pressure against it and gritted his teeth as Thanos managed to push his fist back up, and grabbing it, flipped him to the ground, making him groan as Thanos leapt on top of him and punched his chest multiple times, breaking off parts of the suit as Scott coughed blood.

"Oh no", Hope said in horror as she flew towards Thanos in a vain attempt to stop him, and in that moment, Wanda and Vision sent a combined blast of psionic and solar energy at Thanos, managing to send him flying off again.

Scott shrunk in size, groaning in pain, barely conscious as Hope ran to him, cradling his face. "Scott, you'll be fine, okay? You'll be all right."

Bucky offered a hand to the King, who happily took it and stood up.

"Thank you, Wolf", T'Challa said, his whole mask still down.

Bucky grinned tiredly in response. "This is no place to die."

T'Challa shared his grin as they got back into the battle.

Hulk was hit by a hammer on the face, slightly staggering him back as Cull Obsidian roared at his face, and struck again, but Hulk easily caught the hammer, lowering it as Cull was horrified while Hulk grinned, and head-butted Cull, making him fly back by a few feet as he crashed to the ground, forming a crater where he fell, and groaned in pain as Hulk marched to him.

Cull tried to pick up his hammer but Hulk stepped on his hand, crushing it as Cull roared in pain, and then lifting up the hammer, Hulk roared. "HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!"

He then brought it down on Cull's head, finally ending his life. And with that, the first member of the Black Order was down.

As Glaive and Midnight took down more of the Corps, their path was blocked by Heimdall and Valkyrie.

"You shall die for your defiance, Asgardians", Midnight snarled at the two.

"I would be scared if you could actually follow through on that threat", Valkyrie taunted, and that was enough to make them both attack in a rage.

Heimdall blocked two blows from Glaive and weaved away to avoid another while Valkyrie blocked two of Midnight's blows and kicked her back, sending her rolling away.

Heimdall ducked to avoid Glaive's swing and elbowed him in a spin motion, sending him back before head-butting him back as well, and then lifting him up by the throat tossed him away.

Valkyrie slid away to avoid Midnight's swing and sliced her side, making her grunt as Valkyrie kicked her away from behind, sending her flying again.

Glaive struck Heimdall but he blocked with his gauntlet, trapping Glaive's weapon, and then did a spin motion, disarming Glaive, before kicking him away again.

Before Glaive could get up, Heimdall spun his weapon and stabbed Glaive in the throat, ending him as well.

Valkyrie blocked more blows from Midnight, backing away as she did so, and then elbowed her face in a spin motion, sending her flying back again. Midnight fell on her back but rolled away in time as she got back up, ready to face Valkyrie again, but was stabbed through the chest by the Asgardian, making her gasp as she coughed out blood, and then Valkyrie retracted her sword, while Midnight fell down, dead.

Ebony Maw used telekinesis to lift a Corp up in the air and was about to kill him when an Eldritch beam was fired at him and he put a weapon of war in the way to defend himself as Strange flew down to face him.

"Come to die, Sorcerer?" Maw mocked him.

"No, come to kill you", Strange said as Maw hurled projectiles at him and Strange used a mystic shield to block.

Maw made the column under Strange break and hover but Strange flew into the air to save himself before blocking more projectiles from Maw.

Maw made tendrils appear to wrap around Strange, and he used a blast of Eldritch magic to destroy them all, staggering Maw away in the process as well, before trapping his throat in an Eldritch whip, pulling as Maw grunted.

He then pulled Strange to him and punched him down, making him fall to the ground while Maw stood over him angrily.

That was when the Cloak of Levitation wrapped around Maw's face, Maw staggering around as he struggled with it and Strange got back up, deciding to use his favorite trick on Maw.

As Maw and the Cloak of Levitation struggled, Strange opened a portal underneath Maw and he fell into just as the Cloak unwrapped from his face, and Strange closed the portal.

He had transported Maw to the cold vacuum of Space, where he would die slowly and painfully.

During this time, the battle against Thanos had resumed in full force.

Carol flew at Thanos, her fist powered up with enough energy to destroy a building, but he timed it right and backhanded her away, sending her crashing to the ground once more while it was damaged due to her falling and sliding on it.

Thor hit Thanos with lightning, sending him back, and brought his ax down on him but he rolled away to avoid and punched him away into Tony, making them both fall.

Steve then threw the hammer at him but he deflected it as the two walked to each other, facing each other.

"As long as one man stands against you, you'll never win", Steve declared.

"Noble sentiments from one about to die", Thanos retorted.

"I've lived by those sentiments my whole life."

Thanos then tried to punch but Steve ducked under it and getting behind Thanos, kicked him on the back, making him stumble.

Thanos turned around, swinging but the smaller and more nimble Cap dodged under, striking the badly damaged chest armor and a left hook with the shield to the enemy's cheek before ducking under a massive backhand, then delivering a jumping back kick.

Cap threw a right hook but Thanos grabbed the arm, then the soldier's throat before rearing back and head butting Steve, sending him crashing down to the ground.

Steve got back up with a flip and launched a push kick that barely budged the Titan, then connected a left round kick to Thanos' head, and a swing to the warlord's face that he endured. Thanos leaned back from another spinning hook kick from Cap, who maintained the momentum and made a sweep for the leg, but Thanos raised it in time.

Steve, still spinning, tried another hook kick that Thanos blocked and retaliated with a swing from his left fist that was ducked under, but Thanos clenched that same fist, making the Power Stone glow as he moved for a backhand, prompting the human to raise his shield to block.

Steve could only watch with wide, shocked eyes as the moment the Gauntlet and shield made contact, glowing cracks spread across the Vibranium before it shattered into pieces.

Stunned and with pain emerging from his arm, Steve couldn't dodge Thanos' fist, letting it connect as blood spat from his mouth. The pain got worse when Thanos delivered a punch to his gut, before raising a knee under his chin, whipping his head up and more blood emerging.

Thanos then hurled Steve in the direction of an incoming Hulk, who stopped to catch him, dropping Cull's hammer in the process, and in that moment of distraction, Thanos leapt in and landed a punch across Hulk's face and blasted an energy beam point blank.

Hulk dug a trench with his face before he stopped, pushing himself to his hands and knees, and spitting out a tooth, making him let out an enraged growl before turning glowing green eyes at the Titan.

Before Thanos could hit again, Hulk punched his chest, making him stagger back before grabbing his face and driving it into the ground, and punched multiple times before Thanos blasted him away.

He then charged Hulk but Hulk lifted Cull's hammer and hit Thanos hard, sending him flying off from the blow again as he crashed and rolled on the ground.

As he got up, he was hit by a telekinetic blast from Loki, making him stagger back as he gritted his teeth, planting his feet into the ground, and with a blast of the Power Stone, sent him flying off too. "Insolent fool."

He then saw Mjolnir flying off into Steve's hand and before Steve could do anything else, Thanos fired a powerful blast from the Power Stone.

Thor fired powerful lightning from Stormbreaker and Steve joined, firing lightning from Mjolnir, Tony and Rhodes fired their repulsors, Wanda threw in a psionic energy beam, Vision too fired his Solar beam, Strange unleashed Eldritch bolts, and Carol locked in with her cosmic energy blasts, all of it to counter the energy aimed at them from the Power Stone.

Thanos gritted his teeth and forced more power to be sent forth, but the Heroes' combined efforts lead to an explosion that sent all of them back, dazing them and creating a crater the size of three soccer pitches in length and width.

But this was the opportunity at last.

Before Thanos could get up, Tony fired a missile at his face and it exploded, slightly dazing him, and then Steve used all of his willpower and flew at him, putting Mjolnir on top of him, pinning him down, and before Thanos could use the Power Stone to blast Mjolnir away, Thor leapt down with a roar and chopped off Thanos' arm, making him roar in pain as Thor kicked the entire arm many feet away.

Steve and Thor then moved back as Thanos groaned, trying to rise up but failing due to Mjolnir on top of him, and with the Power Stone gone, he had no way to remove it now.

Looking at the Avengers with grudging respect, Thanos asked. "When the day finally arrives, and what I've said comes to pass, will you look back at this moment? Would you change the events of today?"

"No", Steve answered immediately and firmly, no shred of hesitation. "We stopped you from killing trillions, even if the price was steep. There are those of us who lost friends, family, and their home. You believed in the necessary evil, that only power could resolve this matter, and I don't know what the rest of the Universe thinks, but I believe in people. We stumble, we fall, we make mistakes, but we can get back up and learn to build a better future. But not at the expense of innocent lives."

As they looked at each other, Gamora then marched to Thanos angrily, Quill right behind her.

"Daughter", Thanos said, looking at her.

"I am not your daughter", Gamora snarled and with a roar, stabbed Thanos in the throat with her sword, making him gasp as blood poured down his lip, and Gamora roared angrily with tears of anger and sadness in her eyes, driving the sword deeper into his throat as Thanos looked into her eyes.

Gamora didn't flinch, watching as the light left Thanos' eyes, and his head rolled to the side.

Thanos was dead!

Gamora fell to her knees, crying. In his own twisted and wrong way, he did love Gamora, and due to his abuse, Gamora also did feel some love for him, even though she knew he had been horrible to her.

Quill hugged her for comfort as the rest just watched, sighing with lowered heads.

The battle had been won, but the damage and casualties were still grievous, especially Nebula.

So now, it was time to rebuild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the climax of the battle at last, and I would like to thank Brainstorm Sorcerer very much for his help with this chapter.
> 
> So Thanos was relieved of the Infinity Gauntlet by the combined teamwork of Steve, Tony and Thor, awesome, isn't it?
> 
> And I decided since he killed Nebula and abused both her and Gamora, and also killed Gamora in thr actual film, it was her right to land the final blow on him.
> 
> So after this, we shall have the denouement. Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	9. There is always more to do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memorial is held for the fallen, including Nebula. Thaddeus Ross is put on trial for his crimes. The Avengers reunite with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> So this is the final chapter of this story, since this one was always going to be a short one by me, though I thought it'd take 10 chapters. Well, it's just one less, so not a huge difference.
> 
> Anyway, I thank everyone for sticking with me in this sequel, and hope it was an exciting and thrilling ride till here, and once again, thank you to each and every one of you for sticking with me till here.
> 
> On with the ending.

Xander

After the battle was finished, a lot of cleaning up had been done, mostly by the Avengers and Guardians, since any civilians looking for their deceased family or friends who served shouldn't have to search for them in between corpses of Thanos' army.

So the Chitauri, Outsider and Sakaaran corpses had been removed, with Thor and Strange lighting them on fire with their lightning and magic respectively.

Thanos had been the final one, where Thor had lighted him on fire with a powerful lightning bolt, and then used a powerful wind to disperse the ashes into different directions in Space, to Gamora's approval.

The survivors weren't without injuries either.

Steve had lost his shield and had quite a few injuries on his face, which would take time to heal even with his healing factor. Tony's arm was damaged to the point he was advised not to move it much for at least a month. Hope also had one arm in a cast. Natasha had broken a leg due to getting caught in an explosion and now needed to use crutches to walk. Scott had been beaten up the worst though, and he needed to be on a wheelchair for at least 2 months from now. Peter hadn't been physically hurt as badly as the rest but his near death was traumatizing enough. And Gamora had lost her sister.

Right now, the Nova Corps were holding a ceremony to honor the heroes, both the living and the dead.

Nova Prime looked at the assembled Avengers and Guardians and announced. "Today, we would like to express our profound gratitude to these Heroes who helped us defend our planet from Thanos' forces. Without them, we would have lost everything. But even after all of this, we lost many people. Good men and women sacrificed themselves so that we may live, and we owe all of them an unpayable debt."

No one applauded, but all nodded with firm gazes as one of the older Corps pinned medals to the shirts of all the Avengers and Guardians one by one. He had a bushy moustache, and the Avengers all recognized exactly who he was, though they didn't say a word.

"The Universe is proud to have all of you as its Heroes", the man said to them in a proud tone as they nodded humbly, happy to meet him again now. "Excelsior!"

* * *

Later

A memorial for all of those who had fallen, including Nebula, was erected in the middle of the city as Gamora walked there and spoke. "Nebula and I, we didn't start off on the right foot. Both of us may have been adopted by Thanos, but we were always pitted against each other, and I let it happen. Nebula suffered a lot under Thanos, much worse than anyone else did. But over time, she decided she would not let what Thanos did to her define her. She decided she would be what she wanted to be, and she wanted to be a good person, a hero. The two of us, we became friends, we became sisters. And she became the best version of herself. She may have lost her life, but she died a great hero, and she will never be forgotten. None of them will be."

Gamora then lowered her head and walked away, wiping some tears as Quill embraced her again while some more eulogies were done.

* * *

Later

Thor faced Quill and Carol and said to the former. "I trust you will continue looking after the Galaxy now."

"Yeah, someone has to do it", Quill said.

"If you need help, you can call me", Thor assured.

"It goes both ways", Quill said as they shook hands, Thor a bit amused and surprised that they were getting along much better in this new timeline than the original one.

He then walked to Carol as Quill walked off. "How are you?"

"Thanos beat me, easily, so I feel like an idiot", Carol said.

"Good, because you were", Thor said as she looked at him. "But I hope you've learnt your lesson now."

"I have", she said. "If you need my help, call me."

"Same from this side", Thor said as Carol nodded and walked off too.

* * *

A week later, Earth

Thaddeus Ross was in court, on trial for all of the crimes he had committed, and so far, it wasn't looking very good for him as Harvey Specter ripped into him brutally from all the evidence they had acquired.

"Secretary Ross has clearly misled people nationally with false pretenses that he would be a fair and just handler of the Avengers if they sign the Sokovia Accords, but his history shows that he is not a just and fair man, he wants power and success, without working honestly for it. But the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary. Secretary Ross has carried out illegal experimentation, violated international borders, and misled others to rise to this position, which he clearly does not deserve."

"All of these are just excuses to justify the international laws these Avengers violate", Ross' defender said to Harvey. "Secretary Ross was the one who was facing the consequences of their actions."

Steve, Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Vision, Scott, Hope, T'Challa and Betty, who was also there, had to resist the urge to scoff at what Ross' defender had just said.

"Winners don't make excuses when the other side plays the game", Harvey said to the other guy, stunning him into silence as he gave a smile and sat on his seat.

The judge then read over some notes and started announcing.

"For illegal experimentation, the defender is found- guilty!"

Some people actually started cheering but she banged her gavel. "Order in the court!"

People became silent as she announced some more.

"For violating international borders, the defender is found- guilty!"

There was some more cheering which got silenced.

"For misleading people by withholding important information, the defender is found- guilty!"

This time there was no cheering as there was some more.

"For trying to mislead the court, the defender is found- guilty!"

There was more cheering now as Ross was cuffed and lead away by Everett, while he glared hatefully at the Avengers, especially Bruce, only for Betty to come in the way as she glared back at him with equal venom, and he looked away at that, being led away.

"You know that feeling you get when you finally kill an annoying cockroach?" Tony asked the rest and they nodded. "I am getting exactly that feeling."

They chuckled as Hope said. "I guess with this done, we should go home, and you can rest."

"Yeah, I need it", Scott agreed as Hope wheeled him away.

Bruce and Betty faced each other as she held his hand. "How have you been, Bruce?"

"I've been good", Bruce said.

"And how are things between you two?" She asked.

"Much better than they have ever been", Bruce said.

"Are you seeing someone?" She then asked.

"No", he shook his head.

"Good", she said and then kissed him on the lips, with Bruce kissing back, happy to be with her again.

* * *

Later

The Avengers sat together in the tower as Rhodes said. "So, we won, we managed to beat Thanos before he could wipe out half of all life. How do you feel?"

"Victorious for sure", Tony said, sitting with Pepper as they held hands. "And Jackass is gone, plus, Harvey the BAMF ended up bringing the matter of the Accords to the judge, and they took it to the UN, so now it looks like the UN is going to suspend the Accords till a fairer and more reasonable document regarding oversight can be drawn up."

"Which is exactly what we need, both for ourselves and the public", Steve said as Tony nodded. He had returned Mjolnir to Thor a while ago, who had gone off to talk to the Norway authorities to get some land for his people, though Thor had assured he would give him the hammer if he ever needed it.

Steve had also given up his broken shield to T'Challa, who had promised to fix it quickly and return it to him.

That was when Fury arrived with Hill.

"Well, you all look like shit", Fury commented.

"The commentary is very helpful", Natasha said dryly as all shared chuckles.

"There's someone I want you to meet", Fury said as he and Hill turned around and walked off. "Come on."

* * *

Same time

"Why did you call me, Wanda?" Vision asked as they faced each other.

"This, this is going to be hard", Wanda said, taking deep breaths. "After seeing some things in the recordings, and what my future self told me- I am now seeing things a bit more clearly."

Vision simply listened as she said. "You are a good guy, Vision, and you are kind and sweet, but I don't think it can work out between us."

Visions actually looked hurt, and Wanda felt the utmost guilt for hurting him as she said in a quivering voice. "I know you tried your best, and I will always care about you, but what we have isn't all that good."

"I can change", Vision immediately said. "I can try to-"

"You should change, but not for me, for yourself", Wanda said as she held his hand and they looked into each other's eyes. "Changing you for myself would be unfair to you, Vis. But remaining in this relationship, after the realization I had, is unfair to both of us."

Vision seemed hurt, but accepting as he let her hands go and nodded. "I respect your decision, Wanda. Perhaps you are right. But I hope we can still be friends."

"We can be", she assured as she gave him a hug which he returned.

* * *

There was a knock on the door as May opened it to see Peter on the other side, giving her a smile, and she hugged him tightly, kissing his forehead, as he hugged her back, looking at a picture of himself, her and Uncle Ben behind her.

* * *

Hope wheeled Scott into his house as Cassie ran out yelling. "DADDY!"

"Hey, peanut!" Scott said happily as he hugged her, though she accidentally hugged him a bit too tight. "Ouch!"

"Sorry daddy", Cassie apologized as Scott stroked her hair.

* * *

Tahiti

Phil Coulson and Melinda May were relaxing together when they heard a familiar voice call out to them. "Agent."

They turned to see Nick Fury standing there, walking to them.

"Sir", Coulson greeted as he and May stood up.

"Just Fury now", he said.

"Why are you here?" May asked with an edge to her voice.

"One final mission", Fury said.

"I am retired", Coulson said.

"It's nothing big. You just need to meet a few people", Fury said and stepped aside to reveal Steve, Tony, Thor, Natasha, Clint and Pepper standing there with Hill.

"Oh!" Coulson said, almost in a gasp.

Thor walked to him and gave him a tight hug. "It is so good to see you again, Son of Coul."

"Lungs!" Coulson gasped out so Thor let him go.

"Sorry", he said lamely as Coulson rubbed his chest.

"Coulson", Tony said, holding out his hand as Coulson shook it.

"Hey", Pepper greeted him.

"Hi", Coulson greeted back.

"Agent Coulson", Steve greeted respectfully.

"Captain", Coulson said, becoming a fanboy again for a bit.

He then looked at Natasha and Clint, but no words were said.

* * *

An hour later

"I wanted to tell you all badly, many times", Coulson said. "First, I was going through this life changing experience. Then, I was busy tracking down threats and enemies to SHIELD. Then the Hydra uprising happened and I became Director. Finally, I just admitted to myself that I was too much of a coward to face you guys after so long. And for that, I'm sorry."

"Can't hold a grudge now", Clint said weakly.

"After all that has happened, there is no point to it", Natasha agreed with a nod. "We forgive you."

"Thank you", Coulson nodded before turning to Thor. "And don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known."

"I don't anymore", Thor told him.

"Here", Steve said, putting down Coulson's Captain America trading cards, and Coulson noted what was different.

"You signed them", he said happily as Steve just gave a respectful nod.

"Should have done it much earlier", Steve said.

"So, you want anything more here, or are you comfortable with this?" Tony asked.

"I think this works for me", Coulson simply said.

"It is pretty peaceful, I don't think any changes need to be made", Pepper said.

"Yes, it's a magical place", Coulson agreed, sharing a look with Melinda as he did so.

* * *

As the rest continued talking, Steve walked to Hill.

"Hi", he said awkwardly.

"Uhh, hi", she said back with equal awkwardness.

"Remember that time we talked about coffee when this was all over?" Steve asked.

"I do", she nodded.

"So….uhh….wanna go out for it at the end of the week?" Steve asked hopefully.

"Actually", Hill pretended to think before looking at him. "Yes I do."

The two shared a smile at that before joining the rest.

This day would end, and many more would end after it. Thanos may have been gone, but there were always bigger bads out there, but they knew it, and they knew their work was never done, so they would always stand and fight the good fight.

Because that's what heroes do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With how many times they saw Stan 'The Man' Lee in the previous story, it was fitting they meet him face to face again after they saw that.
> 
> RIP you great human being.
> 
> Also, fun fact, the term 'big bad' was coined by 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' for their Season long villains, and now its in use all over popular culture. Shows how much impact great stuff like Buffyverse, LOTR, Star Wars and MCU can have.
> 
> So anyway, hope this conclusion was enjoyed.
> 
> I wanted Matt to crucify Ross but he's just a firm lawyer, so I decided to use Harvey Specter from 'Suits.' Sure he's a firm lawyer too, but he can always move higher. Not seen the show after Meghan Markle and Patrick J Adams left, though I do plan to, and hoped all enjoyed some Harvey quotes here.
> 
> Bruce and Betty have reunited.
> 
> Hope the Wanda/Vision breakup was reasonable. Like I said, I'm not the pairing's fan, though I do like them individually.
> 
> And now the Avengers have reunited with Coulson in his final moments, and CaptainHill is becoming official for this.
> 
> So, thank you once more to every single one of you for your love and support in this story, couldn't have done it without you all, you people are the best!
> 
> So like I said last time, love you all 3000!
> 
> Now I will obviously write quite a few more sequels, but no idea when I will get to them, so I hope this was a satisfying conclusion to the Thanos stuff at least.
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


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